


Entre Bromas y Veras

by pok3d3x



Series: Chordae Tendineae [6]
Category: Yu-Gi-Oh!
Genre: Candleshipping, Emotional Baggage, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Euroshipping, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-21
Updated: 2016-12-15
Packaged: 2018-08-16 14:20:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 22,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8105719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pok3d3x/pseuds/pok3d3x
Summary: Entre Bromas y Veras - Between jokes and truths; when you say something half jokingly, half seriously.Lives and choices are beginning to get muddled. Everyone has to stick together, but first friendship must be tested with the truth in order to progress forward with life.





	1. Scars

**Author's Note:**

> College has been chomping at my heels, and I missed a week without realizing. I'm so sorry to those who've been waiting patiently! Here is the first chapter of "Entre Bromas y Veras" and I'll post a second chapter Friday to catch us up to my schedule. Regular updates (should) continue on Wednesdays!
> 
> Hope you enjoy! uwu;

The sensation was bizarre, Bakura decided as the doctor was working on taking off his cast. It almost tickled, the humming buzz shaking through his whole arm.

" _It will be nice to finally be rid of this thing. I want to improve my score in that rhythm game, and two hands would do wonders._ "

Bakura didn't reply, only rolling his eyes. Of course the thief was thinking about his arcade rivalry. There were a lot of things Bakura was looking forward to now that his cast was being removed, and videogames barely hit the list. Getting to wear some of his favorite sweaters now that it was cool out, sleeping comfortably, and braiding his own hair were what he was ready for.

Kaiba stood near, and Bakura looked to him with a small smile. "I'd watch your high scores," he playfully warned.

Kaiba smiled back, crossing his arms and taunting," Now I can finally stop taking it easy. Maybe I'll tie a hand behind _my_ back."

" _I've been beating him one handed, and he knows he'll be absolutely crushed in a fair fight._ "

"Oh my," Bakura breathed, amused but already a little tired of their one upmanship.

The doctor finished the second side with her saw, and began to wrench the halves apart. Bakura watched quietly, curious as to what his arm would look like. Kaiba had said he'd been through surgery. The x-rays didn't really tell him any more cosmetically about his arm. 

As the cast cracked open, and the doctor began to cut away the padding, the pressure lifted and Bakura noticed just how much heavier his arm had been that whole time. 

The thief scowled at the arm, not noticing as his own ghostly cast faded. " _It feels so weird._ "

Bakura nodded lightly, a little too distracted by the interesting sight to pay full attention to the thief. His arm was so pale and slender. He wasn't a very muscular man by any means, but it was weird to see the definition of his bone so clearly. The skin was rather red from irritation in most places, but it was pale enough now that the scar on his hand was a little hard to make out at first glance.

"Now, I know it must itch, but try to refrain from scratching at it. You're skin will be sensitive over the next couple of days. Try soaking it for an hour or so each day…" She continued, but Bakura found himself zoning out. 

The incision was swollen, but looked like it had healed well. A thin, red line that followed his radius from near his wrist halfway to his elbow was all that he could focus on as he wryly commented," Another scar I barely remember getting."

He looked to his side regretfully, aware the thief was looking on and afraid he might have hurt his feelings. The thief wore a light pout, but he said nothing in response. Already, Bakura was getting ready to apologize, but the doctor was giving him instructions again.

"I'll be sure to write all of this down," his doctor said with a light laugh. Apparently it was evident he wasn't paying a whole lot of attention. 

"Sorry, I'd appreciate that," Bakura said, bowing his head. He said sorry again, in a way that would be quite normal as showing his gratitude, but he turned his head to the thief.

With a relaxed smile, she told her patient," Now we're just going to check pain and range of movement, and then you're all done!"

When she checked for pain, lightly pressing here and there and extending his arm this way and that, Bakura was relieved that none of it hurt much. Some of it felt weird, but that was because he hadn't been able to move his arm and hand like this for two months. He was a little dismayed to find he'd lost quite a bit of movement despite this.

It was hard to turn twist his arm back and forth completely, and his wrist couldn't bend backwards very far without putting pressure on it. It tingled when he did. From the way the doctor sucked in breath through her teeth, Bakura assumed this wasn't a good thing.

"There's always a chance you'll lose range of motion when you break a bone. This luckily doesn't seem too severe. We'll get you on physical therapy, and hopefully it won't need surgery," she explained as she continued to inspect his arm. "You'll only need surgery if the nerve damage is significant. It's normal to lose a little bit of your original range."

"Oh," Bakura sighed, waving his fingers and noticing how it didn't feel quite the same. It hadn't hurt, and he'd avoided using the hand for much, so he hadn't noticed how hard it was to straighten his fingers enough they reached backwards slightly.

"Don't worry, it should improve with physio," she assured him. "We can start right away."

With a deep sigh, Bakura smiled and thanked her again. It seemed like such a bother. He'd really hoped to be done with this now. He got his cast off a week before his birthday, it seemed like a good present to him to be all healed up.

Kaiba came in closer and squeezed his shoulder, and Bakura leaned into him. Raising and flexing his hand, Bakura looked at the new and old scars ruefully.

~~  
~~

Bakura didn't know how they switched while they slept, only that it happened more often recently. The thief didn't need the loud pull back to reality that Bakura required, being so constantly alert that a simple whisper would do.

" _Shh_ ," Bakura cooed softly, roaming to the side of his body and sitting cross legged. Any louder and he would set off the thief who already woke violently to gentle calls.

He watched his body try to get comfortable, the thief flopping their arm like it was still casted, forgetting it could lie normally again. His wet cheeks glistened in the faint moonlight that peeked through Bakura's blinds.

With another strangled gasp from the thief, Bakura shushed softly again. It was probably for the best they didn't have separate bodies. He'd reach out to soothe the thief in a heartbeat despite how much the thief would probably hate it. He draped his ghostly hand over a corporeal one though; it made him feel better at least.

" _It's okay_ ," Bakura reassured, barely putting breath to his words as the thief began to toss and turn in addition moans. No awkward position satisfied him, and their body squirmed as it began to look like the beginnings of yoga in more desperate attempts to find comfort. 

Bakura cringed as the thief woke, grabbing the closest thing to him and pitching it at the door. The clock survived, Bakura was pretty sure, but he heard a solid chunk of door chip under the stress.

A shrieking gasp left the thief as he glanced around frantically, his chest heaving. He paused and looked around a little less panicked, then threw back his head with an exasperated groan and let himself flop back to his pillow. His breathing still strummed through him quickly, and Bakura felt slightly dizzy from his body's current stress.

"No," the thief grit out as he heard Bakura breathe in to ask a question. He ran his palms over his eyes roughly, bitterly ignoring the elephant in the room. The air chilled his wet cheeks and eyes.

" _You don't even know what I was going to ask._ "

The thief huffed, and muttered," _Fine._ What is it, dear landlord?"

" _What is it going to take for you to stop throwing my stuff?_ "

The thief laughed loudly, clear shock starting out the initial whoop. He had to concede that wasn't the question he expected. His host could surprise him from time to time, which was a relief right now. He didn't feel up to talking about what was bothering him; he didn't know that he ever could, but at least Bakura's companionship offered some momentary relief.


	2. Labyrinth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW for (simulated) horror and pretty squicky discussions. They go to a haunted house, and Bakura and the thief are way too enthusiastic.

"Where is his head," Kaiba asked as they walked into next room of one of the supposedly most scary haunted house type attractions in all of Japan. It was famous outside of the country even, known as a labyrinth of a hospital filled with gruesome scenery and good actors.

"Ooh, I found it!" Bakura eagerly pointed out the corner of the room where a head sat sideways on a bloody operation table.

Kaiba continued to stare at the mannequin brusquely nailed to the wall with scalpels and the leg of a chair. He felt the tug on his hand as Bakura pulled them forwards. Kaiba was happy that Bakura seemed to be enjoying their date, it was his birthday after all. They'd being getting together tomorrow with all of their other friends, but today was their day alone. This wasn't exactly Kaiba's idea of a good time, but he'd been surprised when Bakura had said he'd never gotten to go to a haunted house before.

He'd dismissed it as his father just being too busy and never making time on his own. Many haunted houses had a rule prohibiting people going through by themselves, and Bakura had mentioned before he was alone most of his childhood.

Kaiba was startled out of his thought as what felt like hair hung from the ceiling and he walked right through it. Being so tall was not a blessing in this labyrinth. Shivering in disgust at the sensation, Kaiba ducked down and used his free hand to clear a path for himself.

" _They say the doctor would harvest people's hair as he kept them alive to grow more so he could build entire nets out of human hair to catch his next victims in_ ," the thief ominously hissed in Bakura's ear.

Bakura laughed and said," That is not a part of the urban legend at all, but I like it. We should give him a nurse who had… interesting ways of making the hair grow faster."

" _Like she bathed their heads in the blood of newly slaughtered victims._ "

"Ooh, and that was why that hair was wet back there. She kept them suspended by their abdomens for easy reach."

Kaiba grimaced, a clear look of disgust accompanying how his stomach curled. "What are you two talking about?" He'd become used to Bakura occasionally holding a conversation that only he could follow. Sometimes it was fun to guess the thief's replies, but right now he figured he was better off ignorant.

Bakura beamed to his boyfriend and enthusiastically explained," We're making up new stories to add to the environment. Doctor cuts out organs is a pretty open story, you know?" He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and asked," Too much?"

" _He's the one who should be hearing my golden additions._ " The thief laughed, thinking of Kaiba's face if he began to spin tales even more gruesome than the one presented.

A couple pushed passed them, the boy hyperventilating and pulling his date through the rooms without hardly looking.

"No, I agree, it's a very open story. The video didn't explain his reasoning or preferences." They had begun the tour with a video showing some poor woman finding the hospital she'd come to for a routine check-up was filled with patients being disemboweled and getting unnecessary operations. It had made a big deal out of her seeing her own exposed organs.

" _He could make nets out of their intestines, too_ ," the thief said, smirking as he watched his host's face light up.

"He could wrap the intestines in hair to offer more stability. Still strong, but a lot more resourceful. Hair takes a long time to grow."

"And the average human has around seven and a half meters of intestines," Kaiba offered. He didn't want to know why the doctor would be wrapping intestines in hair, but he had to assume it was for some sort of rope.

They entered a new room and Kaiba found himself missing the hallway of unsettling hair and bloody handprints. It was his turn to urge Bakura forth. The babies' cries unsettled him much more than the rest of the labyrinth's rooms and corridors.

"I have to say, they do a good job of using the mundane to add to the horrific sights," Kaiba commented as he read a poster encouraging older patients to get a Cholesterol Screening. He was still pulling them along a bit fast, but trying to observe as much as he could so he could formulate positive opinions for conversations down the road. 

"This is everything I could have hoped it would be," Bakura gushed. "I've always wanted to come here."

Kaiba smiled amusedly, letting them slow back down as the ambient noise and random shrieks of this room covered the nursery. He couldn't imagine this being a dream location, but he was glad to be a part of Bakura's dream being actualized.

Someone reached out of the wall and Kaiba pulled Bakura closer as his walk became brisk.

" _Ooh, what should we come up with for that?_ "

"People were built into the walls," Bakura said without a second of doubt. "After some violent incidents left the walls in disrepair, the doctor ordered the staff use the difficult patients as makeshift bricks."

" _But the grinding process was slow going, so our favorite nurse shoved partially completed bricks in place and called it good._ "

Bakura looked back with a wide smile as he finished," And their spirits still haunt the rotting walls to this day and animate their broken corpses."

Kaiba was glad he was only getting half the story. It was already enough; he didn't need double the horror. He could tell they were bouncing ideas off each other and only adding fuel to the fire of ways to make this building even more disgusting. Squeezing Bakura's hand as they passed a particularly grotesque display of why people should wear helmets, Kaiba fervently hoped he didn't get nightmares. He didn't react a whole lot outwardly, but his mind had a hard time letting go.

The thief was enjoying this just as much as his landlord, mind turning faster and faster as he came up with new tale after another for what could have caused what they saw. He and his host were not scared in typical fashion with them enjoying the occult. Bakura was just naturally drawn to things that others found creepy and disturbing, and the thief liked to imagine telling others spooky stories and truly scaring them. Bakura was fun to collaborate with in their creation.

It was only the express rule that prohibited touching the actors to keep from injuring them that overrided Kaiba's instinct to elbow the undead monstrosity that leaped out behind them and sprint instead. His arm wrenched backwards to accommodate Bakura's slower legs, but Kaiba didn't slow down until he ran out into the sunlight. Looking back with short breath then up to the sky like he didn't quite believe they were actually outside, Kaiba sighed with relief and composed himself.

"That was awesome," Bakura happily said, hugging close to Kaiba. "Thank you for going with me."

"Of course."

With an amused smirk, Bakura said," I've never seen you run that fast." A little light ribbing was in order for all haunted house goers, Bakura felt. The whole charm of it to him was the shared story of the group that went through it and laughing at the fantastic moments, humorous and legitimately horrifying alike. That's what he'd always imagined as a kid, anyways, when he used to stay up awake at night and imagine what it would be like to stay friends with someone long enough to do things like this.

"I may hate running, but I would survive a zombie apocalypse," Kaiba huffed. Bakura beamed at him, and Kaiba couldn't even pretend to be insulted. He was feeling pretty amazing after the adrenaline rush and his brain realizing he'd survived. Bakura being so happy and cute about it was worth an hour of wandering through poorly lit corridors and gorey rooms.

"A zombie movie, that's it. We should watch a zombie movie tonight," Bakura said, giving off an expression of someone that solved a mystery.

Kaiba looked to Bakura, thinking a comedy was more in order after what they'd been through but going with the suggestion anyways. "Any movie in particular?"

"It's been awhile since I watched a zombie flick. Any would do," Bakura insisted.

Kaiba acknowledged this and said," I'll have a small selection put together." He wouldn't make the final choice, but he could have a servant collect some of the more popular titles.

They were escorted by security to Kaiba's limousine. The recent attacks had all of Kaiba's security force in high alert, and it was difficult to go out for the time being. Of course he made sure that Bakura's birthday plans wouldn't be interrupted just because some idiot wanted Kaiba Corp's president dead, but it took a detailed force to protect them on the streets.

~~  
~~

Bakura curled up against Kaiba, sharing a bowl of cream puffs. The movie was about twenty minutes in and pretty standard fare for a zombie movie. Bakura was usually more of a fan of vengeful spirits and the like, but mindless creatures devouring their way through humanity was always fun to mix things up.

It'd been awhile since Bakura had seen this particular movie, but it was one of his favorite zombie movies, so he had to share it with Kaiba. They both jumped a little at a quick camera transition that made it look like the viewer got shot point blank with a shotgun. "This movie relies a little too much on jump scares, but I really like how believably the characters react to their situation," Bakura thought aloud.

They had really only gotten to know one protagonist well so far, but she'd joined a group of survivors and the cast was pretty varied with how people reacted to near death crises. Bakura talked a lot less through movies to humor Kaiba, who hated missing a single line, but he couldn't hold back all of his commentary. Anyways, it was his birthday, he got to talk during the movie if he felt like it.

The thief was also a talker. " _He's just up and admitting to being infected? What an idiot_ ," the thief complained. " _He's just asking to be shot in the head._ "

"It's for the good of the group," Bakura defended, finding the act quite noble.

The thief was happy with this argument and retorted," _Yeah, but that kind of confession is a death sentence._ "

The man was shot on screen by his lover, a tearful pledge they'd meet in the afterlife having been made. Merely pointing at the screen, the thief didn't bother to say more to make his point. That man would have still had almost a day of life before the infection took over. 

Bakura frowned but let it go. He was an _admit to being bitten_ kind of guy, but he didn't want to spend the rest of the movie arguing a tiny scene. The thief seemed to enjoy it again as they went into a more action filled sequence as the protagonists tried to scavenge food from an infested mall.

Closing his eyes and leaning into Kaiba's hand as the other began to rub his back, Bakura decided small criticisms of the film didn't really matter. This was still the best birthday he'd ever had.


	3. Golden

Bakura sat down with Yuugi, waiting for the rest of the gang to join them. Jounouchi and Honda were up to mischief and Anzu was talking to a teacher, so they were the first ones to their normal spot for lunch. Kaiba had a meeting in China, so he wasn't going to be back until early tomorrow.

The guilt of hiding the thief was beginning to get to Bakura, both in keeping such an important secret from his friends and in how his presence being hidden meant the thief dealt with a lot of passive aggression. "Yuugi, there's something I need to tell you," he said, his voice barely audible with how tentative he was to reveal something so big.

The thief caught on immediately and objected," _What are you doing? Everything is going fine, why upset that?_ "

Bakura's hand came to rest over the Ring as he swallowed hard. "I-" He clamped his mouth shut as a rise of fear that wasn't entirely his own twisted his stomach.

" _Why endanger this? You've said it yourself we don't know how they'd take it._ "

He had to tell Yuugi; he couldn't hide this any longer. It was killing him. It wasn't healthy! No one was making out well in this arrangement, and the thief was just afraid to admit it.

… But he couldn't get the words to come forth.

Yuugi's demeanor was suddenly soft and caring and ready to help. With friendly, but determined eyes, he asked," Bakura, what is it?"

Feeling the support from his friend, Bakura was able to continue," It's really important, and when I tell you, you may not like me anymore."

"Bakura, we've been through a lot together," Yuugi said with a charming smile. "I doubt there's much you could say that would rock our friendship."

Bakura stared at Yuugi's trusting eyes, taking in the rays of warmth he gave off before Bakura potentially destroyed everything. The thief sent a wave of panic, trying to follow the rule of no painful signals, and it was enough to break the little confidence he had strung together. The words died in his throat and no more would come.

Yuugi had to be told though, he couldn't keep their a secret anymore. He also couldn't imagine trying to spill the news to the whole group either. Maybe if one more person knew, it would make the process easier.

Yuugi's expression faltered, and he said," You're starting to wor-"

Bakura desperately grabbed Yuugi's hand and pressed it to his chest. The shape of the Ring was difficult to make out under his fully buttoned jacket, but the distinctive chime of the prongs removed all doubt as to what Bakura could be trying to tell him.

"-ry me…" Yuugi barely breathed the last word, his eyes beginning to glisten. "How long?" The muffled shape of the Ring under his fingers made his neck feel too light, and he hauntedly missed the gold item that used to hang at his own chest.

"The start of last semester," Bakura answered meekly.

Yuugi yanked his hand back and asked," A-and what of the other you?"

Bakura still couldn't find any words, merely placing a hand over his chest and nodding. His lips were pressed tight trying to keep from the tearful grimace he wanted to echo.

"We have to tell the others," Yuugi said urgently, recovering quickly and already flying into protective friend mode.

"No! Wait!" Bakura pleaded," Don't tell them, not until I'm ready! If this is how _you_ react, just imagine their reactions." His brow drew up in concern. "Anzu…" She'd be so heartbroken with what spirit still roamed. "Jou…" He still held a grudge against Kaiba well into Battle City. He still commented about it here and there! Honda wasn't afraid to do what he had to in order to protect his friends.

"But Bakura, he's dangerous!"

"No he's not," Bakura promised grabbing both of Yuugi's hands tightly and asking for belief on just his word. "It's been different this time. I don't have black outs anymore, and we're actually talking."

"How long have you been keeping this secret?"

The answer caught in Bakura's throat, and he forced out," I'm so sorry! Please! Please, forgive me and don't tell the others."

Yuugi was the first person to say that people deserve second chances, but the Spirit of the Ring had outright tried to destroy the world. He couldn't have good intentions now, despite whatever he and Bakura talked about. He was a threat to Bakura, just like he'd always been before, and made Bakura a danger to everyone around him. "He's evil, Bakura. We need to get that away from you. We-"

"Please, believe me. He's changed."

With searching eyes, Yuugi came to know that Bakura believed himself, whether or not it was true. "It wouldn't be the first time he's tricked us. Made us think he's changed a new leaf."

"I've gotten to know him. We've become _friends_."

The thief stared at Yuugi intensely enough he wouldn't have been surprised if Yuugi felt it despite his lack of corporeal form. The gradual change on his face, from fiercely protective to passively worried, was breathtaking. He'd never taken the time to distinguish different forms of fear. It all had pleased him, who cared the source. Now, however, he actually traced the transition from angered fear, the determination to protect what he held most dear, to subdued worry that he may not be able to help his friend.

It was the word _friend_ that was the catalyst, without a doubt, and the thief frowned. From the strong emotion radiating off of Yuugi, the thief felt like maybe he didn't deserve the title. He didn't measure up. 

"I know what I'm doing," Bakura promised, squeezing Yuugi's hands. "But I'm just not ready. This needs to go right." His big reveal had to be better planned than this one.

"I can't lie to them, Bakura," Yuugi protested. He bowed his head apologetically.

"Just give me one week. Please, I'm begging you."

Yuugi looked back up uncertainly. "You'll tell me if something goes wrong, right? Anything?"

The thief shrugged and rolled his eyes. " _Like you'd be able to._ "

Bakura shot the thief a dirty look, then looked back to Yuugi hesitantly. With a forced chuckle, Bakura explained," His sense of humor is a bit dry."

Yuugi's heart throbbed painfully as he realized what he witnessed. He too used to have difficulty not reacting too much to Atem's comments or questions while in public.

"You'll tell everyone in one week?" He asked, needing confirmation.

Bakura nodded and said," I promise." He ignored the look of dread the thief gave him.

"Y-yeah, we got that shade of blue in that you asked about," Yuugi suddenly said too loudly and with too wide of a smile.

Looking up, Bakura realized that Jounouchi and Honda had gotten back and stuttered out," Oh, awesome…! Miraculous Marine, that's the paint I need to finish my latest rogue."

He looked to Yuugi thankfully, and to his coming week with dread.


	4. Twist and Shout

Bakura was studying half heartedly, too busy enjoying how Kaiba's hand idly rubbed his back while he read stock reports. Kaiba _looked_ to be reading, though Bakura suspected it was with as much attention Bakura paid his history book.

A butler entered the study, announcing his presence and excusing his interruption.

He didn't say it, but the pressed line of Kaiba's lips as he turned his head warned this had better be important. Bakura felt Kaiba's hand still as he anticipated bad news. Good news was rarely urgent enough to warrant barging in on them.

Clearing his throat, the man began," Winning the Chubu Tournament entered you into regionals."

"I'm aware," Kaiba growled.

"It seems Mr. Mutou Yuugi has also been entered," the butler continued, his voice never for one second displaying any hesitation. He'd dealt with the young master for long enough to know when the bite in his voice was truly a threat.

Kaiba paused only a moment before swallowing hard and informing his butler," You're dismissed." That was worth disrupting their peace, but he knew the man was already aware of that. His butler, Abram, had a good understanding of what was crucial and what was not.

Abram bowed and took his leave, a solemn look never leaving his face.

Kaiba sat up straighter, pulling away from Bakura as he crossed his arms. Bakura frowned, sensing something was wrong. He would have thought Kaiba would be happy at this revelation. Kaiba had always been so obsessed with besting the other. Instead, he seemed almost disgusted. 

Bakura echoed," Yuugi will be in the tournament?" He knew Yuugi was still playing tournaments to support his family. The winnings definitely weren't small when playing in the ranked tournaments like Yuugi was. He got no reply aside from a brusque hum.

"You're... not looking forward to the tournament," Bakura guessed.

"I don't want to duel Mutou Yuugi," he muttered.

"Really?" He didn't bother hide his surprise.

With a scowl, Kaiba sneered," Atem was my real rival all along. Yuugi was just a vessel."

Jaw dropping, Bakura reminded Kaiba," _I'm_ just a vessel." That was truly a slap to the face he had not expected, and it left a bitter taste in his mouth. He slid to the other side of the couch and put some distance between them, sputtering," If that's how you feel ab-"

"I didn't mean it like-"

"How did you mean it?" 

There wasn't a right answer and they both knew that as Kaiba pressed forth.

"I mean that he wasn't the powerful opponent I'd faced over the years."

There wasn't a right answer, but that was definitely one of the more wrong ones. "I think vessels are a lot stronger than you'll ever know. We put up with more than you could understand. So maybe before you dismiss us as _just_ a vessel, you'll remember that we each held more power than you ever have."

" _Ooh, way to hit where it hurts_ ," the thief purred as he became clear, standing on the other side of Kaiba and looking straight at his host with an amused grin. Bakura felt his stomach churn at the thief's words, realizing that cruel smile was reflecting his own words.

"I- I mean-" Bakura's shoulders hunched and he dropped his gaze to the floor. He mumbled an apology, but the damage had been done.

"Yes, you're right," Kaiba said too calmly, the emotion drained from his voice. Bakura felt the tension in the air thicken. "I scoured the globe for the most powerful cards in existence. Wielded my business' power like all those in front of me were puppets on strings for my amusement." 

He turned slowly to face Bakura. With cold, emotionally charged apathy- his facade broke for only a second- he continued," I'm completely powerless. And _you_ have all of this abhorrent power hanging around your neck like an ornament." Leaning in, he emphasized the accusal with a jab of his finger to the Ring as he stepped closer.

Grabbing the Ring defensively, Bakura echoed Kaiba's advance, leaning in closer- the proximity now seemed uncomfortable rather than soothing as it usually did. "So that's what you think of it. Am _I_ abhorrent for wanting it?" He'd seeked it out in the past. He couldn't bare to part with it, even when he'd distrusted the thief.

"That's not what I said," Kaiba argued," You're twisting my words-"

"Evily?" Bakura suggested, standing as he got too agitated to sit still. He wasn't one to bait people into further fighting, that wasn't him at all, but this topic was sore, and it got personal the second vessels were mentioned.

The thief watched from the sidelines, interested how this would end. This was the most adamantly he'd ever seen his host fight aside from Monster World. Bakura was even growing red in the face a little. He specifically wondered how one of them would try to resolve this argument, if they would at all.

"The Millennium Items were created from the death of an entire village. I think it's fair to call the Ring and its power disgusting." He didn't like wanton death- that was what had spurred him into taking aggressive action to overthrow his stepfather- and it sure didn't endear him to the Millennium Items he'd already distrusted. Even when dealing with those close to him, he couldn't ignore the conditioning that dictated he should not give up a more powerful stance, and stood as well.

Bakura almost spit out something about Kaiba's bloody past. He almost pointed out how at least one person died in Kaiba's acquisition of the Blue Eyes. For a moment, his lips almost spewed forth how Kaiba had orchestrated a death trap for Yuugi and his friends. "What's this really about?" He asked, his voice dialing back but still a little aggressive. Forcing a calm air, Bakura sighed and asked," You're jealous of my power? Scared of how you measure up?"

Kaiba's eyes widened and his breath caught in his throat. Maybe not precisely envious of Bakura, but his lack of power in light of everything that had happened to him and his recurring loss at Mutou's hands circled his mind constantly. Recovering as subtly as he could, he gritted out," _Yes._ " 

The thief's turn to be shocked was next as he saw Bakura begin to remove the Millennium Ring. " _Wh-what are you doing_ ," he asked panickedly, trying to take over but feeling Bakura block him easily. " _No, no, no! That's mine_ ," he called as Bakura thrust the Ring into Kaiba's hands. The thief practically began to hyperventilate as the Ring left their hands.

Looking down to the Ring and back up to Bakura curiously, Kaiba tried to ask his intentions, but was beaten to the punch.

"You're right. It _is_ malicious. It has killed every other person to ever put it around their neck before me," he said. "I didn't ask to be a vessel, I was the only choice. Just like I'm sure Yuugi was the only one who could solve that Puzzle." He ignored the pulsing pain of anxiety in his chest, trying to tell himself it wasn't his. Bakura wasn't sure if that was entirely true.

The thief impatiently demanded," _Take back the Ring. Give it back to me_." He didn't care about the heart to heart Kaiba and his landlord were having.

Kaiba held the Ring at a distance. "I thought I made it pretty clear I didn't like this thing."

"I thought you wanted power."

"Not like this." He didn't need power for power's sake. Not more than he already had, anyways. It was his skill that concerned him. He handed back the Ring, unaware of how much he relieved a very agitated spirit. Gulping back the raising dread in his throat, he tentatively began."I've never beat Yuugi- either of them- fair and square, a-and I don't need to…" 

The crack in his armor split and he grimaced like he was in true pain. Running a hand through his hair and clearing his throat as it got too thick to speak clearly, he finished," _I can't do this to myself_. I never truly faced Yuugi- I don't know who's better. And if..."

The thief shrugged and put his two cents in. " _If the pharaoh kicked you into the dirt over and over, and Yuugi beat him so hard he's_ dead _, I would say that's pretty clear evidence_ -" He shut up when he received a pointed glare from Bakura. He scowled and shrugged again. It wasn't like Kaiba _could hear him_.

Bakura tilted his head silently, taking in Kaiba's slumped shoulders and desperate eyes. He closed the distance between them and reached out for a hug, stopping himself before he actually embraced Kaiba to make sure he was given permission. A distracted bob of the head was all he got, but he knew that it was green light and enclosed Kaiba in his biggest hug. Even after his hands dropped, he remained leaned close, savoring how it felt natural again to be so close.

He felt sick after their fight, and it may not be the healthiest but he wanted to just forget, ignore that it happened. Gripping the Ring tightly in one hand, he acknowledged that couldn't really happen. Obviously that had to be discussed, but right now he needed a breather.

"I think you're getting taller," Bakura complained softly, pressing his forehead to Kaiba's chest and noting just how much higher Kaiba's collarbone felt.

"It's been known to happen."

" _I swear if_ Mokuba _gets taller than you, I will never forgive you_ ," the thief pouted. " _I live three thousand years, and I never_ once _get to be tall._ "

Bakura chuckled softly and let Kaiba in on what was so funny. "Thief's raising the point that Mokuba might grow taller than us."

"Give it four or five years."

" _We have to make up for lost time. Eat better or something_ ," the thief begged with mock horror.

Sparing a raised eyebrow the thief's way, Bakura teased," If you mean more vegetables, we can begin tomorrow." He was relieved by the thief's reluctant shrug and wrinkled nose. He liked the ratio of vegetable to sweets they currently ate.

Kaiba smiled sadly, glad for the distraction from what had all just happened, but far from over it. "Do I have to ask my chef to start incorporating more spinach?"

"I'll pass," Bakura quickly assured him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy, that was a doozy of a chapter. I'm pretty drained from school right now, hitting midterms and all that, so I hoped I managed to catch all my grammar mistakes. Ha ha, I'll read it over again when I manage to get more than three consecutive hours of sleep, which has eluded me for six days going now.


	5. Troubleshooting

Bakura sat across from Kaiba, one arm propped and holding up his chin, the other modeling a new dueldisk design. Kaiba Corp really stressed accessibility, which Bakura had not been so aware of prior to getting to know the president.

Last month they released a renovated model that had an extra attachment that could read the cards in play and one's own hand and convert the data into braille on a morphable pad, and the month before they released a model that translated text to the user's own language.

Now Kaiba was working on a design that would better enable one handed play. A prop could hold the hand of cards in place and draw cards as needed. It placed the the disk at an adjustable angle that allowed the wearing arm's hand access to the field. With the simple press of a button, it swung back to the standard retracted position to allow freedom to the hand to do other things.

Kaiba preferred to work in such close quarters with someone he knew well and liked. Bakura didn't mind. It was quiet and they usually spoke little other than discussing improvements and other features to consider. It was calming and Bakura could let his mind wander.

"How is that?" Kaiba leaned back to allow Bakura room.

"I definitely think the activation button being accessed by pressing it to the hip is more universal." The previous location had been easy for him to reach, but his fingers were long and it may have been problematic for those with smaller hands. "Including both options might be nice though, since it might be wieldy to move up and down quickly, especially after a long day of dueling."

That was why Kaiba began to ask Bakura to assist. He really thought of problems that most of his development team didn't take the time to bother with. Bakura was good at fishing for bugs and potential hitches. It helped that he genuinely cared about the potential users, and not just a paycheck.

"What's on the drawing board next?" Bakura asked as he watched Kaiba removed a metal plate from the base of the disk and begin to reconnect wires with a different fitted piece.

"I got a letter from a little girl requesting a model that stabilizes itself so the field is easy to read," Kaiba said before placing two thin screws between his closed lips so he could better manipulate the wires under the casing. Of course he didn't have time to read all the fan mail he received, but he put priority on children's letters, especially from orphanages.

Kaiba was too focused on his work to notice the dreamy light that shown in Bakura's eyes. This was the kind hearted Kaiba Seto that others didn't see. He hid it so well behind his successful business and arrogant tournament arrangements and loud proclamations of self-excellence, but he truly loved the game and wanted everyone to be allowed equal opportunity to play. He donated far more tech to underprivileged children than he could write off in taxes.

Bakura smiled warmly and contentedly watched as Kaiba finished this prototype. It was about to enter beta testing, allowing the people it was intended for to use it and suggest further edits that well meaning but ignorant able bodied people couldn't necessarily foresee a need for, and Bakura had a feeling he'd be wearing its next stage soon as Kaiba started making the necessary adjustments.

"Hey, Kaiba?"

Kaiba hummed for Bakura continue, too focused to spare a glance.

"Would you mind if I called you Seto?"

The screws fell from his mouth as Kaiba looked up in shock.

Bakura felt his cheeks grow warm as he quickly apologized, panic smothering his ability to speak coherently. "Sorry, I didn't, uh, mean to…! Sorry-"

"It would be fine," Kaiba decided. He just hadn't been expecting the question. It would be a little odd, certainly. The only people he allowed to call him by his given name were his closest employees that he'd been working closely with since he was a child. No one else really respectfully referred to him so intimately. Even Mokuba referred to him formally since Gozaburo.

Bakura looked to his side quickly, and shrugged lightly. "And the thief?"

Kaiba almost immediately denied the second request, memories of just before the Ultimate Dark Game on his mind, but he chewed his lip and debated. Then, it had been clearly mocking, and Kaiba hated disrespect being tossed his way. He'd worked much too hard in his life already to tolerate anything less than begrudging high regard.

Averting his eyes to the duel disk, Kaiba off-handedly said," If he leaves it at 'Seto'." The thief and terms of respect were inherently arrogant and disrespectful.

"If you wanted…" Bakura didn't know how to finish his offer, not wanting to put him in a position where he felt he had to use his given name if he didn't want to.

Kaiba looked up with a look of insecurity. "Sure, Ryou…" It seemed a little forced. "Was… I supposed to pick up on this myself?" He'd never dated or really even gotten to know someone well before and hadn't thought about something so simple as names.

"What? No, I just, I just thought it would be nice," Bakura didn't think there were official rules, though felt most people were a little quicker to jump to closer names and titles even just with friends.

It would be nice to hear Bakura say his given name when there was not immediate peril at hand, Kaiba mused. "Yes," he agreed stiffly. "It will take a little getting used to, but it'll be nice."


	6. Confession

His week ran out too quickly, and he knew that Yuugi had been counting the days down as he made eye contact with his friend. Everyone was heading out to burgers after school after cleaning duty, and gathered close in a rather quiet and private place was better than at the burger joint.

"I- I have to say something," Bakura announced less than elegantly. Everyone stopped and looked back to him curiously. Everyone but Yuugi, who had been pleading silently for him to take action so he didn't have to bring it up himself.

"Can't it wait till we have food. I'm starving after cleaning," Honda complained lightly. 

"Oh please, one minute won't kill you," Anzu chastised him. 

"Yeah, we should listen," Yuugi insisted, not coming anywhere close to smooth.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow, observing how personally interested Yuugi seemed despite the topic not having been brought up yet. Between his anxious energy and Bakura's powerful aura of uncertainty, Kaiba felt whatever was about to be brought up would not be pleasant. His suspicions were all but confirmed as Bakura took a small step closer to him and covertly held out a hand, looking to him for support. Confused but supportive, Kaiba took his hand and didn't pull away even as he felt it was clammy.

"It's uh, pretty important, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you guys earlier."

Kaiba's eyes minutely widened as he tried to hide his astonishment, immediately catching on. They hadn't discussed how he should tell everyone, despite Bakura mentioning a few times that he felt guilty for not feeling he could admit it. Kaiba could never offer any advice, since while he knew that honesty was a big component of the new leaf he'd turned, opening oneself to unnecessary complications was never a choice he even considered. Risk and reward was how he tended to sort all of his life, try as he might to relax when on his off hours.

Bakura nervously stepped forward, his hand reluctantly trailing behind as he tried to hold on to Kaiba's reassurance as long as he could. Uundoing his jacket and the top two buttons of his shirt so he could pull the Ring plainly into sight, he looked around anxiously. "I shouldn't have kept this hidden, but I was afraid how you guys would react."

Jounouchi was the first to speak up, his voice jarringly loud," You're _wearing_ it?!"

"The other you isn't still…" Honda's voice tightened as he took a step closer to Yuugi and Anzu as if he could protect them against Ancient Egyptian magic.

"He's back too," Bakura quietly confirmed.

Anzu shook her head and protested," But we saw him destroyed!"

"You saw most of him destroyed. He left behind a splinter of his soul to survive the game should he lose," Bakura explained, withdrawing on himself at the loud voices of his friends. His throat constricted and he held the ring tightly. The prongs shook almost unnoticeably, only caught by Kaiba. He crossed his arms as his looked around distantly. What Bakura wanted most at this moment either didn't exist or was already here.

Jounouchi gritted teeth uncomfortably, the fear of being haunted by this spirit creeping up his spine. "This is kind of a big deal, Bakura. You should have said something sooner." 

The thief looked to Bakura, not even having to utter a single word before Bakura nodded. He took control of the body instantly, not missing a beat as he retorted," Well did you ever think to ask how he was doing after the game?" He pointed at Jounouchi accusingly, then dropped his hand and gestured to the whole group. Everyone looked at his apprehensively, aware of the switch but not knowing how to handle it.

"For people who claim to be the best of friends, it's clear you didn't catch all the details. Such as, I don't know, telling him how the game ended? Remembering to check up on him when he went through years of trauma and expecting it all to just go away because I was cut out of the picture?"

"You're fighting against yourself," Honda said, tightening his fists. His heart pumped hard, and he could feel Jounouchi readying to fight beside him. It was stupid, they weren't going to beat down their best friend's body, but old habits died hard.

"Well, excuse me for not being blinded from the truth like you morons are," the thief snarled. "It wouldn't be the first time the pharaoh beat someone and they became a better person for it." Everyone's eyes subconsciously darted towards Kaiba, and he shrugged lightly under their awkward attention. The thief wasn't wrong.

Becoming angered as the discrepancy was brought to mind, the thief pointed blindly at Kaiba and asked loudly," Why does _he_ get to be forgiven anyways? Huh? What makes me so irredeemable that I don't get that chance?"

Kaiba looked to the thief discreetly, pressing his lips in a worried line as he ascerned just how upset the thief was. He was shouting angrily, but his eyes showed a different angle. He was envious and sad, he felt he wasn't being treated fairly. Kaiba wondered if this was something he spent a lot of time thinking about.

"In case you forgot, you've tried to turn us into dolls and kill us," Anzu reminded him. She thought back to the RPG how their souls were ripped from their bodies, how terrifying the Other Bakura had become during his and Yuugi's match during the Ultimate Dark Game.

The thief growled then snapped," Lots of people have tried to kill you!"

" _You might have more luck convincing them you've changed if you come at things from a less aggressive angle_."

The thief handwaved his landlord's suggestion, fuming silently. The injustice of his life just seemed too great. From Kul Elna to _this_ , it felt unfair that he should never get a break. He didn't realize he was shaking until Kaiba placed a hand on his shoulder. Jerking away, the thief cried out ," N-no! You all suck! Bakura was able to forgive me even after I got him stuck in a penalty. He talked to me and got to know me before deciding whether or not to reject me. None of you deserve him!"

His trembling effected his words the slightest bit, his shaking frame starting to become evident even to those who were farther away. 

"Thief," Kaiba called softly. He tried to ignore how much it hurt that the thief lumped him with everyone else and accused him of not deserving Bakura; that was an active fear of his he didn't need validated. However it also hurt to see him this shaken. He needed support, though Kaiba grimly assumed he wouldn't accept it. 

Sniffling back tears, the thief pushed past Jounouchi and Honda, and bolted. He didn't even bother to switch shoes as he jumped through the genkan and left the building.

Kaiba called out after the others as they were slow to follow, informing them," Don't bother. You'll never catch up to him." They stopped and looked back to Kaiba, each with varying degrees of confusion on their face. 

"You trust him," Anzu observed. "The Other Bakura."

Kaiba looked away as he shrugged. "As much as I trust you guys."

Jounouchi flared at this and angrily said," Hey, don't compare me to Bakur-"

Looking back sharply enough, Kaiba shut Jounouchi up without immediately saying anything. "We call him the thief. He's not Bakura, or the Other Bakura. He's a seperate person. He's made his own mistakes and successes."

"He doesn't have a name?" Yuugi piped up. "Doesn't it seem kind of mean to only call him a word?"

"A name is just a word," Kaiba said, looking at Yuugi like he had a screw loose. His name was _literally_ just the word 'game'. Anzu meant apricot.

"Yeah, but you guys didn't pick a very nice word."

Kaiba only had seconds to ponder this as Honda spoke up. "So how long has he been back?"

"A few months," Kaiba answered. "But I'm not your exposition device. The thief was right, you should talk to him. You should talk to both of them." Putting his hands in his pockets, he walked past them calmly and changed to his outdoor shoes once he reached the school's genkan.


	7. Hand Holding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW light injury and blood
> 
> I can't believe Chordae Tendineae has reached 100,000 words! It seems like only yesterday I was in Japan and falling back into Yu-Gi-Oh! because of the 20th Anniversary... Thank you to everyone that has stuck around! You're feedback and presence has meant so much to me, and I would have never gotten this far without it!

Kaiba was reading troubledly a good half hour after the confrontation when he received a text.

[ _I don't know where I am. Could Lucille pick me up?_ ]

Kaiba deftly texted back [ _Turn on your location settings and I'll have her triangulate your coordinates._ ] He looked up to the ceiling as he figured roughly how far the thief could run in thirty minutes and the traffic at this time of day. He quickly added [ _Should be about 10 to 15 minutes._ ]

[ _Thank you_ ]

Dismissing the need for thanks, Kaiba set his phone to the side and stared at the pages of his book once more. He couldn't really focus on it. His thoughts were consumed by how earlier had gone. He wondered if the thief would want to talk about it. He worried about what he would say. Kaiba wasn't exactly known for being a comforting person, and this wasn't exactly an easy topic. The thief also apparently harbored hurt feelings directed at him, and Kaiba didn't know how to handle that.

"Hi," a voice meekly called, startling Kaiba slightly.

Kaiba looked to the clock, disbelieving time had passed so quickly. He set his book aside and looked to Bakura, eyebrows raising slightly as he saw him. His eyes searched quickly for injury as he said," You've got blood on your face."

"Oh, do I?" Bakura crinkled his nose like he'd been served burnt toast. Licking his hand, he rubbed at his face and grimaced as it came back reddish.

Kaiba gestured for Bakura to join him and asked," Why do you have blood on your face?"

Bakura held up his hands, bloody knuckles facing Kaiba. "He made friends with a wall."

That didn't explain how his blood ended up on his face, but Kaiba figured Bakura was politely dodging something that would embarrass the thief. He took Bakura's hands gingerly and said," We should get these cleaned up." It looked painful, splotchy red interweaving with forming bruises.

"He apologised," Bakura said softly.

"That doesn't change the fact that you should wash your injuries."

Bakura pulled his hands away gently and covered his eyes defeatedly. "I've messed everything up. What if they all hate me? Or go after him? Or, I don't know. Something bad?"

"I don't think they're going to ditch you if that's what you mean. They're not like that. And I don't think they would attack the thief if you stood in their way. _We_ can stand in their way." 

Bakura looked to Kaiba with surprise. Wringing his messy hands, he thought of Kaiba's words. Sure he and the thief had been getting along for the most part, but that pledge of togetherness on his behalf… Bakura smiled warmly.

The thief shuddered into sight, staring at the two of them. They sat so close, and Kaiba reached so gingerly to take Bakura's hands again. " _He's so… I sh-shouldn't have…_ " That gentleness was so foreign, and he'd detested it, but now it seemed almost tolerable if not desirable.

Bakura glanced over slightly, a sad smile accompanying his worried eyebrows. He could see the way the spirit watched their affection with hungry eyes. "Thief… You can-"

" _I don't want to_ ," he quickly cut off. " _I don't need any-_ "

"Wanting isn't the same as needing," Bakura interrupted softly.

Kaiba wished he knew the context, and looked around, as if will could make the thief's image materialize. Taking a shot in the dark, he offered," If you want to talk, I think we should."

The thief frowned, pointedly looking away, though bowed his head and looked back moments later. He locked eyes with Bakura, almost asking permission, but first seeking his opinion. It didn't _seem_ like a good idea. Why willingly subject oneself to talking about unpleasant topics? Himself was the most unpleasant topic the thief could conjure up, and he knew that was what needed to be discussed.

Kaiba could sense the hesitation through Bakura's strained smile. "He can hear me, right?" 

"I mean, I don't know the exact limitations, but pretty much anything I can hear." Sometimes Bakura wondered about the exact specifications, but the thief was only just getting casual enough about their relationship that Bakura considered asking that they test it.

"It couldn't hurt, and you could always back out later," Kaiba persuaded. He really thought it could do the thief some good, and he knew cleaning raw knuckles hurt more than Bakura was up for.

The thief reluctantly asked permission, almost annoyed when Bakura accepted before the thief could even open his mouth. As he came into the physical world, the reassuring warmth of Kaiba's hands holding his came to the forefront of his mind. The thief uncomfortably pulled away and awkwardly crossed his arms, aware of how the broken skin pulled at his sleeves.

"Are you okay?" Kaiba asked because it was a reasonable first question after the day's events and he didn't know what to say. He thoroughly doubted he'd get anything resembling a truthful answer though.

"What do you think? I'm peachy keen." The scowl he pulled warned against wasting his time with more useless questions.

"I wouldn't expect anything less," he assured offhandedly, then suggested," Why don't we wash your hands up?

"Okay," the thief reluctantly agreed because at least it would build in a buffer between him having to speak.

Kaiba lead them to the nearest bathroom, pulling out a standard first aid kit that he kept in all the baths and kitchens. Also bringing out a soft wash cloth, he ran water until it was warm and wet the cloth thoroughly before wringing it out.

"Here," he said dryly, holding out a hand and readying to begin. He didn't waste his time with mustering up too much compassion, it would only unsettle both of them more.

The thief sighed and complied, setting his hand in Kaiba's and bracing himself for the initial sting. As the cloth began to pat down across his fist, he focused on the sparks of pain to distract himself. It was a relief from what he faced- the purpose for him taking control. _Talking_. He loved the sound of his own voice, but not when it was talking about what Kaiba intended.

"Does that hurt," Kaiba asked, patting further down his knuckles and approaching the ring finger that looked to be missing a decent chunk of skin. The pinky looked relatively clean, which meant he was at least probably punching with fair form. After the initial rub, he paid close attention and began to search for embedded rubble.

"You should see the other guy."

"I'm sure that brick wall started the fight," he mused, pulling out a piece of red clay.

"Came at me swinging. Had to protect myself."

Kaiba's eyes flashed up to the thief's. "I see."

Silence sat between them, and Kaiba continued his work quietly. When he finished the first hand, he began to work on the thief's second, which had a bit more blood. The cloth quickly began to dye pink.

"So about before…" Kaiba was unsurprised when the thief pulled away, both physically and conversationally. "I'm cleaning your knuckles before Bakura takes back control one way or another, so you might as well let me continue." He didn't miss how his statement was ignored, recognising how far away the thief stared.

"I was afraid I'd hurt someone," the thief admitted, grabbing at his head. "I was so angry and I just wanted them to feel the same pain my landlord does, but.... I would go too far. Old- old… _habits_ die hard."

"I know," Kaiba said softly, _sympathetically_. He grabbed the thief's hand and began to work faster, sacrificing delicacy for just getting it done before the thief pulled away yet again.

The thief gritted his teeth as he thought to the burning desire to inflict pain, even if it was against himself. Then, he was still hurting others. Bakura didn't say anything, but it hurt him, the thief could tell. Kaiba was hiding it well, but he knew it hurt him to see Bakura in pain too.

"I just… They don't care about Bakura. Not _enough_. And they claim to be so understanding and forgiving, but not for me. I'm out of the question."

"Bakura likes to hang out with them, and that's _enough_. Not _everyone_ can care as much as… we do," Kaiba began. The jealousy that the thief was displaying had to be kept in check. "And… I don't know everything that went down between you and them, but they didn't really accept me right away, either."

"No?"

It was hard for him to admit some of the smaller details of Duelist Kingdom at all, but it was harder for him to admit them to the thief. Just because they weren't as antagonistic towards each other as they'd started, Kaiba still felt awkward in trusting him. It felt right, but that didn't make it easy. "I… don't actually know if you or Bakura was around for Duelist Kingdom, but they didn't trust me right away, and I sure didn't make any efforts to endear myself." 

A guilty twinge pulled at Kaiba's stomach as he acknowledged that he paid so little attention to Yuugi's friends, he couldn't even retroactively discern who had been in control of Bakura's body. Redemption in the minds of Yuugi and his gang had been the last thing on his mind as he worked fruitlessly to try and save Mokuba.

"Is that so?" The thief weighed this, pouting as he examined his now clean knuckles. Kaiba wrung out pink water in the sink, and the thief tried to ignore the guilt that clawed at him. It was difficult to do now.

Kaiba looked away from his task to nod. "I was essentially as gone as you for six months, and in that time, only Yuugi truly forgave me. Jounouchi still looked at me with daggers for eyes. I certainly wasn't welcomed by any of them, and I received more than a few harsh words questioning my morals and ambitions."

It did actually make the thief feel a little better knowing that Kaiba wasn't met with friendly forgiveness right off the bat. He hadn't paid Bakura's friends much mind except as a means to exploit back then, so he couldn't remember the palpable disdain Kaiba mentioned.

"They've come around for me and many others, I'm sure they'll forgive you. It just might just take a while." Kaiba placed the used cloth to the side and reached slowly to take the thief's hand despite clearly not having any medical reason to do so at the moment. As the thief's shoulders tensed and he pulled his hands closer to his chest, Kaiba retreated, awkwardly crossing his arms.

That was pretty much what Bakura had been saying, and the thief complained," Why should it have to take a while? It's been over half a year, and they forgave Otogi instantly. What makes me so undesirable?"

Kaiba's eyes widened, the lower lids taught with concern. His brows knitted together as he struggled to keep his throat clear. "It's not- You're not undesirable." His arms tightened, bones pressing uncomfortably together. His stomach felt a little light.

"Oh really? List one good thing about me." The thief's eyes were wild, as if daring Kaiba to embark into a minefield. Say nothing, and Kaiba would be affirming exactly what he felt; lie, and he would do even more damage. The thief heavily anticipated Kaiba's next words, holding his breath for their surely destructive impact.

Kaiba frowned and replied," I'm not going to avoid the truth. You're a manipulative asshole, and your manners leave a lot to be desired, but you are desireable."

Kaiba was dodging poorly, and the thief was a little disappointed. The Kaiba he knew ran a business with calculating apathy. Where was the little regard for the thief's feelings he'd shown in the past? With a bark of laughter as he remembered an interesting night between him and his host before it ran sour, the thief asked," What's your favorite thing about me?"

"You're not just a challenge, but an entertaining opponent. You're engaging to talk with, when you feel up to it."

Well, that beat the thief's answer to Bakura. Kaiba hadn't wasted a second forming his answer either. It didn't seem likely he would have had an answer like that prepped ahead of time; he must have really meant what he said.

With an embarrassed clearing of his throat, Kaiba moved on to rubbing some antibiotic on the thief's knuckles. He debated if and how to bandage them once he was finished. This would have probably been best left to one of his professional staff, but he couldn't pass up the opportunity that this brought. The thief was hard to get talkative when not betting stakes in games.

"Kaiba…" He looked up, eyes freezing on Kaiba's lips as he licked his own. He cursed as he averted his eyes. What kind of lovesick idiot were they turning him into? The thief was accustomed to stealing the hearts of others and gambling with them recklessly, not to another holding his own and making it beat faster.

Kaiba didn't quite follow the thief's train of thought right away, though it became evident to him with a few more passing moments. "I'm sorry. It's not you… It's…"

"It's not my first time being rejected by a guy, though usually it was because they paid ladies a lot of attention," the thief dismissed with a shrug. This didn't exactly make him feel more desirable, but he was beginning to understand they'd both be happier if he let it be.

"Could you-" the thief dropped off and swallowed hard, finding his throat unusually tight. "... Maybe kiss me like you do Bakura," the thief finished asking sheepishly, pointing to his cheek.

Kaiba raised an eyebrow and cleaned his fingers of the medicine before looking back to the thief. Now that he was actively thinking about it, how exactly he kissed Bakura left his mind. He composed himself for a moment before reaching a hand to grab the thief's shoulder gingerly and pull him close.

The thief shook the hand away with a startled jerk, covering his shoulder with his own hand in an embarrassed, shrinking pose. With a grimace, he clarified," Just a kiss." He didn't like to be touched like that outside of fighting and lust.

"I'm sorry," Kaiba said, brow furrowed as he pulled back his hand with confusion. He hadn't meant to upset the thief. It seemed so tame compared to what the thief had tried on him- he'd just assumed it would be alright. Now the thief looked uncomfortably small, and Kaiba was backpedalling and trying to find the proper course of action.

It had been touch and go in the beginning for Bakura and him, but Bakura's focus on talking and establishing what was okay and what wasn't had really helped him feel a lot more comfortable with it all. He should have exercised the same caution. Carefully, Kaiba asked," Are there some places touch is okay?"

"I- I guess my legs?" People didn't tend to restrain him by the legs in the heat of battle. He couldn't count the number times he'd been carried off to jail or worse in some kind of arm lock though. He thought about Kaiba's question more and shrugged. His hair was pulled so often before his formal launch into thiefhood, and he remembered a time when regular punishment included being dragged to the whipping grounds by his neck. 

With watery eyes, the thief croaked out," And my waist- _from the front_!" He only noticed he was trembling lightly when Kaiba held out his arms like he was going to embrace him but hesitated before crossing them again.

"Nobody's ever asked me that before," the thief whispered softly, hugging himself and leaning back until he felt the wall behind him. Normally he would have felt cornered, but right now this was the most comfort he could accept, being so vulnerable in Kaiba's presence.

"It was new for me, too," Kaiba confided, equally soft. Reaching forwards slowly, he asked," May I?"

The thief tentatively nodded, stomach turning as he felt Kaiba gingerly place a hand on either hip. He didn't feel sick so much as turned on, but his stomach coiled all the same. Arms dropping away from himself, the thief hesitantly rested his forearms against Kaiba's, hands gripping just before the elbows.

The kiss to his cheek was chaste, and the thief had to hold back a chuckle at how sweet it was. It reminded him of the many firsts he took, but the thief broke off that line of thought quickly. Tucking his chin, the thief stuttered," My fists have been cleaned and, um, thanks. So…"

Kaiba watched the eyes before him blink and flicker up to him, changed completely and a touch confused. Bakura's hands rubbed up to Kaiba's biceps and squeezed, assuring the contact was okay. He was obviously curious though.

"The thief doesn't like his arms and back touched, I guess."

Planting a kiss at Kaiba's collarbone, Bakura pulled away and checked out his knuckles. "He really made a mess of them, didn't he?" Bakura whined softly as he fanned his fingers and felt the soreness that would only surely get worse. They looked even more gross with the slopped on medicine.

"I, uh, think we're dating," Kaiba said awkwardly.

Bakura looked up and laughed lightly. "I thought we decided that a while ago."

"I mean the three of us."

Bakura tilted his head and considered this. "I've never been a particularly conventional person anyways."

"Me neither, but this is still a bit strange," Kaiba said, wondering how he would even tell Mokuba.

Bakura shrugged, holding one hand to the side. "My life is strange. Why should dating be any different?"

"I suppose," Kaiba said unconvinced, distracting himself with the medical kit. He was trying to decide if adhesive strips or gauze was the way to go.

"Seto…" Bakura waited until he had his attention. "His soul feels much more at peace. Thank you."

Peace wasn't a state the thief's soul seemed accustomed to staying in. Kaiba could only imagine the two of them would be doing a lot of damage control as the issues between their friends and the thief unfolded. "This might be difficult, but I've never shied away from a challenge. We'll make it through."

"I love you," Bakura whispered.

Kaiba stared at him dumbfounded and swallowed awkwardly. He hadn't been expecting something so forward. Still unable to appease his dry throat, he mumbled back," I love you, too."

A year ago, Kaiba would have never imagined even considering telling another soul those words.

Warm sappiness falling away, Bakura's face appeared melancholic and apprehensive. "Even if they hate me, you'll be here for me right?" He pulled close to Kaiba, sinking into the ready embrace. The fear of losing his only friends made panic rise in his chest, even if knew he should have faith that they wouldn't do that to him. Bakura sniffled loudly, his eyes growing hot and his head feeling crushed under trepidation

Kaiba frowned as he felt wetness gather at his chest. "Always," he promised, combing his fingers through Bakura's hair soothingly.


	8. Just a Ryhme

Bakura could barely keep his head up in class. It didn't make sense. Rubbing at his eyes yet again, he lamented how he could feel this tired when he got a full seven hours of sleep. Eight was unachievable, and seven was better than average for him. He shouldn't feel so dead tired.

" _Geez, keep your eyes open_ ," the thief complained, sending the soul equivalent of a pinch through their connection.

Bakura folded his arms on his desk and grumbled into them softly. He nestled his chin on his arms. It was all he could do to keep his forehead from hitting the desk.

Eyes slipping from the board, where honestly he wasn't really paying attention anyways, to Kaiba's routinely empty desk, he wondered what he was up to. Bakura couldn't recall any trips on the calendar that they now shared, or any meetings either, but that just meant nothing was scheduled in advanced. There was always mountains of paperwork and inspecting how the research and development team was coming along, which Bakura knew Kaiba would spend his whole time doing if he could get away with it.

The thief followed his landlord's gaze and commented wryly," _Thinking about your boy toy isn't going to get you an S in this class._ "

Bakura just sent back an annoyed pulse of energy, too lazy to write back a response.

His eyes slowly wandered from Kaiba's seat to his desk, then furtively to Jounouchi beside him. None of them had said anything to him this morning, though the guys were characteristically running in late, and Anzu was sitting the furthest from him and only squeaked in before the bell.

Jounouchi caught him before he could look away, and Bakura's heart skipped a beat as anticipated some cold remark or stare. He was used to it, friends turning cold. It had happened at so many schools that he'd been surprised when Yuugi and everyone still talked to him after their Monster World game.

Bakura was once again thrown for a loop as Jounouchi flashed him a smile, something a little mischievous but still light hearted and fun. They should be mad at him, or not trust him, or wary of being in his presence- not _this_. Whatever this was, Bakura mused, wondering what prank they set up.

Realizing he was still just staring warily, Bakura tried to send back a smile, but felt his stomach turn as he did so. What if it wasn't convincing enough? What if Jounouchi assumed it was the Spirit of the Ring even though the thief could probably return a much more convincing smile than he ever could?

He buried his face as he couldn't hold up even a weak grin. Ugh, what was wrong with him? This was only making things worse. Talk about incriminating.

A light bump to his chair leg spurred Bakura to look back over and see what Jounouchi was trying to show him. A porno magazine just barely saw the light of day, smushed into a textbook and warping it's hardcover with the magazine's girth- oh why did he think of it like that? 

Chuckling softly and restraining from rolling his eyes, he looked back to Jounouchi with amusement. So that was what he was all excited about? Bakura covered a laugh as he realized that was probably why the three of them were late.

Holding up a finger, Jounouchi mouthed," _But wait…!_ " 

Wondering what more Jounouchi would be excited to show off, Bakura sat up a little straighter and propped up his chin. His cheeks flushed as his eyes widened in shock when Jounouchi pulled out another text book and flipped it open just enough to flash the words [ _Big Strong BL_ ] to his friend.

"We got'cha covered," Jounouchi whispered with a amiable wink. 

Blanching, Bakura suddenly found the teacher's lecture extremely interesting. He could hear muffled snickers from Honda and Jounouchi and a soft high five. Too mortified to look back, Bakura could at least comfort himself that they didn't seem to resent him after yesterday's reveal.

~~  
~~

"Tell me," Kaiba repeated calmly," Tell me what I want to know and this will all go much more smoothly."

'You can't do this," the man restrained in a metal chair cried out. "It's illegal!"

Kaiba smirked and retorted," So is murder, but you don't seem to have any reservations about that."

As the man scowled and remained silent, Kaiba turned back to his guard and said," Alright, make it just rice and tea."

"Oh, come on!" He struggled in his restraints the best he could. Soup had been the first to go, next fish. One by one food items were being taken out of his daily meals. He couldn't even keep track of how long it had been since he'd failed his mission and end up in captivity.

"Just tell me who you're working for, and I'll consider releasing you."

Kaiba stared at his captive, crossing his arms intimidatingly and letting an impassive expression take hold. Menacingly neutral worked for business much like it did these interactions. 

"You can't be so stupid. I'll turn you into the police the second you let go of me."

Kaiba shrugged like the other's words meant nothing, and honestly, they didn't. "I'm sure I could buy your silence. Everyone has a price."

"Well I had a price for loyalty and you're not going to win over that!"

Very early on, the man had slipped up and admitted to not being in the assassination plans alone. It was Kaiba's edge that he could keep prying at and loosening. This man was resistant, but not well trained; he would break. Kaiba should know, he'd funded more than a few personal staffs' education is such fields.

"What does a hit go for these days? A few billion yen? No, you're not nearly qualified enough for that sum. I'd wager this is one of your first assignments. I wouldn't be surprised if you're still interning and only making a hundred thousand." He gauged the other's reaction, smirking as he hit the mark. Well, at least one of them had good aim.

"I may seem to be in a light mood today, but let me assure you," Kaiba's calm broke as he leaned in and grabbed at the head rest, thumb just shy of his prisoner's face. "When you put my life in danger, you put the people around me in danger. That includes my brother, my close associates. If harm ever came to any of them, I would see to it personally that you lived out the rest of your days in misery. I am going to find out who you're working for. I am going to learn who planted a bomb in my workplace that nearly took the life of my brother and a very promising intern. If you volunteer the information I want, I'll go easy on you. At this point, I'd just let you off with a decent sum of money. If your holding back information leads to my employees, family, or friends being hurt- well, you won't have need for money."

Gulping, the man closed his eyes and began to mutter to himself. Most likely it was a mantra to keep himself too distracted to speak secrets.

"Have him fitted with a shock collar," Kaiba said as he pulled away. "So much as mumbles and he receives a shock." Enforcing silence was a great motivator for people to speak.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BL is short for Boy's Love, and it is a genre all on its own in Japan.


	9. Okayu

It was the day after getting back from business trip in New York that Kaiba knew he had managed to catch the plague that traveling threatened. Having a personal jet severely cut down on his likelihood of getting a nasty bug, but he still had to interact with people from different geographical locations the whole trip, and taking extra vitamin C could only help so much.

Kaiba hated being sick. He imagined most people did, but he absolutely loathed the uncleanliness of it all and how he felt weak and people pressured him to take off of work to recuperate. There was little Kaiba hated more than being made to take a break from his work. 

It was that resolute reluctance to stay home that lead to him waking up blearily at his desk and looking at the time with a sigh a acceptance. He'd just spent the last two hours in his office, so ill that he fell asleep the second he sat down. That and looking to his waste bin that was already filled with used tissues convinced Kaiba it was time to take a _short_ break. Maybe he'd feel better tomorrow- or at least well enough to lie to himself that he could be productive.

Kaiba hummed to himself in frustration, feeling like he was giving up, but pressed his intercom and informed his secretary. "I'll be taking off the rest of today. Arrange my ride home and clear my schedule for today."

His intercom crackled back," _Yes, sir. Should I clear tomorrow morning as well?_ " 

"No, just today."

He was positive he would be able to come into work the next day.

He was completely sure- until he was sitting across from the toilet in his personal lavatory three hours later. He raised his head to look at whomever was entering the room, but he decided knowing who wasn't worth the nausea looking up caused and went back to cradling his head. Someone was about to be fired, he decided as they closed the door behind them and the click of the latch sent another spike a nausea through him.

"Seto, can I get you anything?"

Oh, he wasn't going to fire Bakura. 

"No," he replied, but he he didn't sound certain, and the way his voice whined embarrassed him. He wanted control back.

Bakura sat next to him, holding a cup of something strong enough that Kaiba could smell it despite his clogged nose. "The internet said ginger tea is good for when you're sick."

Kaiba accepted the drink, but protested," You shouldn't be here. I'll get you sick."

"I'll be fine. I want to take care of you."

Kaiba considered fighting the point, but he honestly felt too ill to do so. His head felt like it was being pressed in from all angles and his throat was raw enough speech hurt almost as much as looking up. He sipped his tea unenthusiastically.

Bakura frowned as he laid a hand to Kaiba's forehead. "You should let your staff take care of you. Clarice is worried."

"They all worry too much. I'm fine." Kaiba had been dealing with largely the same staff since he was ten, and they had always had a knack for being overprotective as much as their job would allow. Kaiba had also always been independent and refused their help as much as he could manage. He was still conscious; he would still deny he needed help.

"Really? The Kaiba I know doesn't leave work at ten in the morning when he's fine," Bakura said with a note of amusement.

Kaiba sullenly looked over to Bakura, the darkness of the room obscuring the other's grin. Narrowing his eyes, Kaiba tried to think a witty comeback. He failed. His head was too heavy and hurt too much to think of anything clever.

"Sorry, I-I was just kidding," Bakura quickly backpedaled, cheeks growing warm and forehead lining with creases.

"I know, Ryou. I'm not mad." Kaiba sighed. He had to go back to his early days of explaining every five minutes he wasn't upset, unable to control his expressions every second. He set the tea to the side having drank as much as he could handle at a time.

Bakura accepted this with a nod, but fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to help?"

Kaiba was about to reply when he had a sudden need to reunite with the toilet. He felt Bakura rubbing his back and stayed where he was in case he had an immediate encore. He was usually a lot more successful getting rid of Mokuba trying to help him, so actually receiving personal care was kind of bizarre. Nice, though.

"I want to clean up," he admitted, deciding to accept a little help- just a little. "And go to bed."

Bakura helped the best he could, though Kaiba didn't exactly make it easy. He may have said he would allow help, but he was still stubborn. It took a bit of work, but they eventually got him into bed.

Kaiba closed his eyes, relishing how wonderful the cold compress under his neck felt. He had to admit to himself just how ill he was as he asked for another blanket despite already using two and sweating profusely. It was kind of amusing accepting Bakura's help. He couldn't remember the last time he was tucked in.

"I'll be back to check on you later, alright? Just call if you need anything." Bakura placed Kaiba's cell phone in easy reach, knowing there was no way he'd ever hear a shout in this mansion.

~~  
~~

Bakura was fluffing all of Kaiba's pillows, ready to rebuild the pyramid that supported him upright. "Mokuba's sick too," he informed Kaiba. 

"What?" Seto hadn't been out of his room in almost a day, and with all the curtains drawn, it was hard to keep track of how much time had passed. "Make sure he drinks plenty of fluid. He likes okayu when he's sick, and ginger tea with honey and lemon-"

"I know, he told me," Bakura cut off, finishing the pile of pillows and pressing Kaiba to lie back. He'd gone from groggily allowing Bakura to help him to full protector mode in a second, and it had been impressive to see. Also worrisome. He didn't need to get this excited right now.

"He's really bad about taking medicine, but you can usually convince him if-"

"Seto, I've got it under control. He's sleeping off a nice dose of nyquil as we speak."

Kaiba looked at Bakura incredulously. He'd been trying to take care of that kid for over a decade and Mokuba just up and listens to Bakura to take medicine? The traitor…

Scowling as he reached for his laptop, he opened it back up to what he'd been working on earlier that day. He couldn't go to work, but that wouldn't stop him from working.

"What are you working on?" Bakura was a little exasperated; he'd been trying to get Kaiba to relax most of the time he'd been helping him.

"Just updating employee regulations," he answered, keeping his eyes on the document and continuing to type. He'd been meaning to do this for a while now, but it kept falling behind other projects. Currently, Kaiba was in the midst of dress code. He edited a previous bylaw to be, [ _Employees may wear limited jewelery; including small rings, stud earrings, and tight bracelets that do not hang more than 1.5 cm from the wrist._ ]

Only looking up when Bakura cleared his throat, Kaiba rolled his eyes and shut his laptop. "I'll try to get some sleep," he resigned. Much to Bakura's displeasure, he had been fighting sleep since waking last, but not very effectively. Despite his wakefulness, it was mostly just filled with hacking and feeling miserable rather than getting anything accomplished.

Bakura leaned in and kissed Kaiba's forehead. "I think that would be best. I'll be back with some soup later, okay?"

The thought of food wasn't at all appealing, but as a vaguely rational man, Kaiba grumbled acceptance.


	10. Don't Forget

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sick-fic is here to stay for bit ^w^;

Mokuba was happily eating jello as Bakura changed out his cold compress. "Hey, Bakura," he called as he got a better look at the other. "You don't look so good."

"I'm just a little warm is all," Bakra dismissed. _And tired…_ He'd been tired a lot recently, but now that he was most likely sick, he felt completely drained.

"You don't have to take care of us. I mean, we have servants to do that."

Bakura sat down beside Mokuba, biting his lip. "I know, but I want to," he said with a weak smile, placing a hand on Mokuba's head. He sniffled lightly, but he wasn't quite sick enough to blame that on the congestion. His eyes were rimmed red.

Mokuba's spoonful of jello fell back down to its dish and with searching eyes, he asked," What's wrong?"

Bakura ran his hand through Mokuba's hair, deciding it needed to be brushed after a day in bed. Getting up and grabbing a hairbrush off the dresser, he sat back down and began brushing gently, careful to not pull on the scalp as he encountered many snarls. "I just miss my sister," he answered softly, pausing from brushing to wipe his sleeve across his eye.

"You have a sister?"

Bakura nodded, then vocalized the answer before elaborating," She passed away when I was very young."

"I'm sorry." Mokuba's head drooped.

Memories of her could be hard to bring to clarity; he was quite young and it had been a long time, but he had gone over every memory he had of her so many times that those he had were crystallized. One such memory came to him and he laughed lightly as he automatically began to share.

"I once tried to get a bag of ice and water for her when we were kids and she fell off her bike," Bakura began, a lighter tone to his voice. He had to pause to wrestle a particularly awful knot. "But I tripped as I got to her, and held onto the bag too tight and burst freezing water all over both of us." He laughed lightly. It had been a hot summer day and the water was actually quite refreshing. She'd laughed and demanded he do it again.

Mokuba laughed and said," That reminds me of the time my brother once tried teaching me to rollerskate."

Sharing in funny sibling moments was healing and Bakura shared another story enthusiastically. It was only as he was halfway through telling it, he stopped and fell silent. Conflicting feelings tugged at his heart, and he couldn't tell if he was relieved to talk about her or upset. "Sorry. I, ah, haven't really talked about her in a long time," Bakura excused. Aside from mentioning who he was writing to with the thief, he hadn't spoke of her in years. He and his father didn't talk about family, the little they talked at all.

Mokuba shifted in his seat. "I get it. My brother doesn't talk about Mom or Dad. I was too young to know them, but I miss them. The idea of them, I guess. They weren't like Gozaburo, he said."

That was a hook for Bakura's curiosity if there ever was one. Seto never talked about him except in passing reference, but Bakura knew enough to put together that Gozaburo was horrendously awful. "You must move a lot in your sleep," Bakura complained, struggling with another knot and trying to distract himself before asked about their adoptive father. Seto didn't talk about him for a reason, and Mokuba probably didn't like to either.

"And I always forget conditioner."

Bakura stopped brushing to give Mokuba an incredulous and horrified look. It was a miracle this wasn't more of a rat's nest than it was.

Turning back to Bakura sheepishly, Mokuba grinned.

"I'm braiding your hair after I brush every single snarl out of it," Bakura decided aloud. This was already the longest he'd ever brushed hair in one sitting and he couldn't imagine dealing with this head of hair on a daily basis.

Mokuba laughed and shared," My brother does all the time too! He broke a brush in my hair once!" His chuckles escalated as he thought about how vexed Seto had been with him and his lack of care for his hair.

Bakura thought about this and said," So that's how he got so good at braiding." His own hair had to seem like a walk in the park after dealing with Mokuba's.

"I can't do it at-" Mokuba stopped for a sneeze that wracked his whole body and then continued like there was no disruption," all. I can braid other stuff, but when I try to braid my own hair it ends up all lumpy and with big chunks spilling out the braid. I don't know."

"Well maybe if you're good and eat your meal, and not just the jello, I'll teach you," Bakura teased.

With a good natured laugh, Mokuba pointed out," You'd teach me either way."

Mokuba knew him too well, Bakura thought as a smile came to his face. Joking back, Bakura said," If only to make sure I never have to brush out a rat's nest again."

" _If you think his hair is bad, you'd have been appalled by mine when I had my own body_ ," The thief weighed in.

Bakura knew that; the thief didn't even use shampoo and he never brushed.

"Did you used to braid your sister's hair?"

Bakura hesitated, but answered," Yes, though her hair was really short for it."

"I bet she really appreciated it."

"I used to tell her all about my day at school while I braided her hair. She was really excited to go. She was just five before… Well, I better finish up so I can go check on your brother." Bakura cleared his throat and rubbed at his eyes, silently hoping that he wouldn't break out in tears. That was the most he'd talked of her since her passing, he wasn't prepared for that kind of emotional rollercoaster.

"Sorry," Mokuba weakly apologized, feeling like it was his fault Bakura was sad.

"No, no, you haven't done anything wrong," Bakura insisted, pulling Mokuba into a quick hug. "I'm just not used to talking about Amane." He quickly began to braid the thick, black hair and used a hair tie off his wrist to hold it. It was a sloppy braid, nothing special, but Mokuba seemed to like it as he patted it to feel what it might look like.

"Try to at least eat the crackers and some soup," Bakura said as he stood up. He added a drawn out please as Mokuba protested and smiled at the begrudging acceptance Mokuba finally gave. The Kaiba brothers didn't know it, but they were putty in his hands.

He left the room and sighed as he shut the door behind him. 

" _So that's why you've always written to her?_ "

Bakura jumped, so drawn up in his thoughts that he forgot he had a spirit that hung around and occasionally spoke to him. Looking to the thief as he came into view, Bakura scowled and asked," You knew?" What had been the point of pressing him for her name, then?

He hadn't always had the rules to follow, or any sense that his host should have privacy. That was brand new in his long, spiraling existence. " _You don't have any secrets from me… well, except for what's on your phone, maybe._ "

"My phone?" Bakura gave him an amused and incredulous look.

The thief shrugged self-consciously. " _Your password is long._ "

"The password is 'don't forget the password', all one word," Bakura smugly informed the other. Some King of Thieves he was; he couldn't even break into a smartphone.

With an exasperated huff, the thief said," _Well it's not very secure it you just blabber the password aloud._ "

Simpering, Bakura replied," Don't worry, I'll change it tonight." 


	11. Feverish Aid

As Bakura woke up, he regretted it. He could barely breathe he was so congested, and the pressure on his head was trying to outdo the nausea in his stomach. Trying to get up, he got as far as sitting up in bed before he collapsed to his side and moaned at how miserable he felt.

"I need to take care of the Kaiba's," he whined, covering his eyes with the crook of his elbow.

" _No you don't. They literally have thirty people in this building, paid to do just that._ "

Bakura didn't feel well enough to deal with the thief's argument. "Shut up." 

" _Ooh, I'm shaking in my boots at that intimidating order._ " The thief fell silent and noticed they _were_ shaking ever so slightly, but their hair was slick to their neck. Being this sick back in Ancient Egypt could have easily killed him. He'd made it through worse though, and he knew how much it meant to Bakura to see to the Kaiba's and make sure they were okay. WIth a big sigh, the thief offered," _You're in no condition to be walking, but I think I could manage and at least see to it they get something more to drink._ "

"Really?"

" _Yeah, sure._ "

As control was slid over to him, the thief felt the full brunt of the illness. It was a wonder his host had sat up. The thief was motivated to make good on his word, and had a lot more tolerance to moving through pain and discomfort. Being too sick to move didn't fill one's stomach on the streets.

Hoisting himself to his feet, the thief made it to the kitchen. He hunched over awkwardly to take as much pressure off his head as possible and because it didn't send stabbing pains through his eyes, and he wondered why the hell they were so lucky to have access to servants and too stupid to make use of them. What kind of nonsense was his landlord running on? He would have killed to be this lucky during his life. He had killed, many times, to try and achieve the wealth required to make that a reality.

Grabbing some bottles of sports drinks, too lazy to brew tea, the thief made his rounds. He stopped in to Mokuba's room first, calling," Hey, kid, catch!" He pretended to throw the bottle, laughing as Mokuba panicked and readied to catch something, then glared at him for the trick.

The thief righted himself and kept a facade of fairly low discomfort as he entered the room, coming up and holding out the drink in easy reach.

"That wasn't very nice, you know," Mokuba grumbled as he accepted the bottle being handed to him. "I'm sick."

"Yeah? Well, so am I," the thief said with a bit of bite.

Mokuba stared at him for a bit, then asked," Why isn't Bakura in control?" It wasn't hard to miss.

"Someone had to pilot this sickly body, and he wasn't up for it. Wanted to make sure you kiddos kept hydrated enough despite being sick himself."

"Well, thanks, I guess." Mokuba drank some of the red drink, relishing how much more flavorful it seemed while he was ill.

The thief crossed his arms and scoffed," You could show a little more gratitude." That kid was practically healthy again, and here he was dragging his host's body around while his head felt like it may implode just to take care of this kid and his idiot brother.

" _And you could be a little more nice_ ," Bakura criticized.

"What more do you want? He got his juice. He looks like he's ready to spring out of bed, but I waited on him while barely standing. So I was a little curt."

" _Sorry_ ," Bakura backed down from his complaint.

Well, Bakura looking like he'd been sent to the corner for timeout wasn't exactly what the thief was going for. Crossing his arms, he debated trying to smooth things out, but decided against it. He was sick of not getting the same praise someone else would for the same task.

Mokuba stared up at the thief, noting Bakura's pallor and sunken eyes. "You do look pretty sick, you should get some more rest."

"Plan on it, kid. But you know what they say. Ain't no rest for the wicked. Sit up. I'm only going to fluff your pillows once today."

Mokuba obeyed and watched as the thief did what he said he would. It was hard to imagine this was the same guy that had attacked him so long ago. It was also easy to believe, considering his selfless protection on the elevator weeks back. The thief was coming around, he guessed, like many of the people that faced Yuugi. "I'm glad you're changing for the better. I think it would be really fun to play capsule monsters with you sometime," he spoke up.

Sputtering, the thief finally scoffed," Whatever, you don't have to be weird about it, but sure, I can play a game with you sometime." He played it off, but Bakura could see the flush that came to his cheeks and quirk of a surprised smile trying to make its way onto his lips.

Sitting back once the thief took a few steps back, Mokuba tried to think of something to say. He didn't know the thief very well. They didn't talk much, and his brother had mentioned a few times early on that he didn't like Mokuba talking to him. He didn't seem that bad though, Mokuba thought. The thief was rough around the edges, but Mokuba was more than used to dealing with that.

"Stop looking at me like that," the thief said, shirking away from the steady gaze he was under.

Mokuba shrugged and looked away. "Thanks for the drink."

"You're welcome," the thief replied hesitantly, almost cautiously like it may be a trick. 

"Do I have to go to school tomorrow?"

The thief shrugged and said," I don't care." Snickering at Bakura's glare, he revised," But I think I'll be outvoted." Mokuba was obviously feeling a lot better, most likely just milking out absences like many kids were wont to do.

" _Let's see to Seto before you get any crazy ideas in his head or get his hopes up._ "

The thief rolled his eyes. He understood the importance of an education. Truly, he imagined he probably did better than anyone in this mansion; he couldn't even read his own history on the walls of his soul room. A kid needed to have days off though. He never got much of a chance, and he found himself actually caring Mokuba did.

"Bye, kid," he said with no explantion as to why he was all of a sudden ready to leave.

As he was almost out the door, Mokuba called out," Wait!" The thief looked back curiously. "We'll have that game soon, right?"

The thief looked to Bakura discreetly, who only shrugged with a sight nod. It was in the rules. He still got to play games so long as he didn't escalate them to dark games for no reason. "Sure," he answered. "I'll read up on the rules."

He quickly closed the door behind him, feeling a rise of nausea as his stomach twisted. It didn't make sense that a kid as innocent as Mokuba, he only tried to kill a handful of people- innocent enough in the thief's eyes- would want to spend time with him. Not hope for Bakura, and feel shorted it was him instead, but request his presence. 

It made sense with Kaiba Seto. They had a bit of a rivalry going on from ever since he egged the duel out of him. It wasn't exactly built on bright foundations, what with the catalyst being his unconscious younger brother, but they had reason to want to best each other, and that was enough to grow into some strange whatever they had now. 

Mokuba was just some kid. Some kid he had abducted, albeit not to the other's knowledge presumably. Some kid he had roughed up simply because he needed a gauntlet to throw at his brother's feet. Some kid he had risked his life to save, but only because he was important to his host, and perhaps ever so slightly because the thief liked to see that he was getting a proper childhood and wanted to protect that.

Why did he trust him, let alone want to spend time with him?

" _You okay?_ " Bakura tentatively asked, seeing the perplexed frown on the thief's lips only deepen.

"Mokuba thinks I am a good person," the thief concluded from the conversation they'd shared.

" _Yeah?_ "

The thief shook his head, then stopped as his vision swam and he almost fell to the ground. He had been deep enough in thought he'd forgotten how miserable he felt. His headache pounding in his head twice as hard reminded him and he grimaced as he carried on his trek.

"He's wrong. I don't know." It bothered him. He couldn't explain why.

" _I've been hearing a lot of people question if they're good people after making bad choices lately._ "

"Well, I'm not questioning, okay?" He flusteredly tacked on an explanation as Bakura clearly looked at him expecting one. "You don't get to commit genocide and be a good person. I may have become a monster, but I was never deluded enough to think I hadn't."

A heavy air settled between them. Bakura tried to say something in response, but found he had no good response to that. Despite the sinking despair of the statement, Bakura was a little relieved by it. Every time the thief showcased his growing conscience and opened up to him, Bakura felt even more sure that he'd made the right choice in keeping him around and not immediately throwing him to the wolves like he'd considered.

The initial fear that had pressed on his mind and the pain that had rubbed against his heart when the thief initially found his way back to Bakura had overwhelmed him. He could still remember the aching in his chest as the thief tried to communicate with him and beg he be given a chance. It hadn't exactly turned out well at first, but day by day, the thief showed the choice Bakura had made in good faith was turning out to be worth the hardship he'd endured because of it.

The thief sighed, coming to a stop outside of Kaiba's door. He felt even more tired than they had waking up. Mulling over Mokuba's apparent trust in him drained the little energy he had. The thief had made a promise though, loosely as it may be, and he didn't want to let Bakura down. 

He swung the door open carelessly, only stopping its wide swing that would abruptly end in a clatter as he saw Kaiba was sleeping soundly. Muted snores came from the sleeping man, too congested to breathe through his nose. Easing the door almost closed behind him and gracefully entering the room without making a sound, the thief placed the bottle he'd brought on the bedside table and took the old mug that was in its place. 

Staring at Kaiba's face, flushed as it was, the thief debated waking him to take his temperature. Bakura had taught him how the use the thermometer left at the side of the bed and warned if Kaiba exceeded 39.5 C to call the registered nurse on staff. That was the lowest Bakura had been able to talk Kaiba into agreeing to.

Picking up the thermometer, he deftly positioned it in his hand and carefully inserted it into Kaiba's mouth. The thief set the mug back down gently, cautious about making a sound, and gingerly pressed his now free hand to Kaiba's chin and pressed slowly to close his mouth around the thermometer.

" _What are you doing?_ " Bakura looked on with exasperation. " _I know you don't exactly like the word, but this is pretty much the definition of being a creep._ "

The thief ignored Bakura's words, a little hurt but distracted enough by his endeavor to disregard how they cut. No, he didn't like being called a creep, but this was concern. He was avoiding waking Kaiba up to let him get the rest he needed and had been objecting to most of the time he was ill.

The red bar evened out, just shy of 39, and Bakura released Kaiba's chin slowly to withdraw the thermometer. Half-heartedly wiping it off with a tissue, the thief deposited it to where it had been and picked the mug back up. His sleight of hand was so practiced, he could pick someone's house key off them sleeping on their key ring. It was a skill he was quite proud of; it had served him well.

The thief was ready to be on his way then, he decided, having delivered the fluids and made sure his landlord's boy toy wasn't baking to death. Tiptoeing out, he had nearly cleared the door when a butler came through the hall loudly and ruined all of his hard work.

"Bakura?" Kaiba turned his head blearily. 

Sulking back into the room, upset that he hadn't succeeded in avoiding waking Kaiba up as much as it was just to prove he was sneaky enough to pull it off, the thief responded," Try again."

Ah, he saw it now. Bakura would never walk around with an unbuttoned shirt like the thief currently was. His eyes couldn't come into focus quickly in his dark room with the blinding light of the hall. "My mistake. Just waking up."

"I was trying to avoid that," the thief ground out," but some bumbling servant had to go and trample through the hall." Talking louder so Kaiba could hear him from across the room made the thief's head throb more, so he came closer and held it to try and ease the pain some. Ugh, the aches in all of his muscles called for rest, and he was doing his stomach no favors by walking around.

"Well, since I'm awake anyways," Kaiba began, then muted himself a little embarrassedly to ask the favor. "Would you be able to help me out of bed?" His joints were so stiff and they all cried out to move to relieve some pain.

"Might as well," the thief said with a sigh, playing off his help as reluctant as he walked even closer and held out hands for Kaiba to grip onto.

It was a sluggish couple of circuits around the master bedroom, which was a fair amount of distance for how large a room Kaiba had. He definitely got the virus the worst, feeling so achey and deprived of energy that he could barely walk by himself and kept himself draped across the thief the whole time. Neither mentioned it, for Kaiba's pride and the thief's tolerance.

When Kaiba finally called his limit, the whole process agonizing but beneficial to his long term comfort as he would spend more time in bedrest, the thief dumped him back onto his bed as gently as he could, though he found his shaking arms unable to to support Kaiba much more. Unable to hold back his exhausted panting, the thief sat on the corner of the bed and wicked away sweat from his forehead.

"You didn't mention you two were as sick as me," Kaiba said, observing how the thief now behaved and feeling bad for putting their body through the physical strain if they were equally ill. 

The thief shrugged. He'd tried to hide it, much like how he had in front of Mokuba. He spoke of being ill, but he didn't give in to walking with his head tilted or breathing through his mouth like he wanted to. He put too much work into holding Kaiba upright to have any reserves left for acting however. 

Laying back and almost moaning at the near instant halving of his headache, the thief said," Okay," the tone of his voice clearly making obvious things weren't. "I know we're both private people, but this is ridiculous." 

He pulled himself halfheartedly all the way onto the bed, still not near the top or anywhere close to resting on it normally. "Just call in a goddamned nurse and let someone who actually knows what they're doing take care of us." They both felt too terrible to take care of each other effectively, and while trained staff couldn't magically take their sickness away, they could make them feel marginally less awful by actually applying skilled knowledge.

Kaiba sullenly acknowledged the thief was right. At this point it was beyond denial that Kaiba was very sick and needed help to take care of himself.It was unlikely he would die by this virus refusing help, but he supposed he could sacrifice a little pride to nab more comfort.

He plucked his cellphone off the nightstand and texted the nurse on duty to make arrangements. It took a strong force of will to convince him to accept help, and two of the strongest forces he knew laid in bed with him, curled up in a pathetic heap of congested agony.

"Seto."

Kaiba noticed the switch and called back," Yes, Ryou?"

"Sorry I got sick. I wanted to take care of you."

Closing his eyes and breathing as deeply as he could, he replied," You are taking care of me."

"Moral support sucks when it's actually just comisery."

Kaiba sat up arduously, taking in Bakura's fumbling attempts to button his shirt. His arms were shaking bad- was he just that exhausted from carrying Kaiba's weight around or was it something more serious? He gestured for Bakura to come closer and took over for him.

"Don't sell yourself short." As he finished buttoning, he grabbed Bakura's hands and continued," You convinced me to actually accept help in the first place. That's more than most can say." That was true of more than just this small bout of illness.

With a coy smile, Bakura amusedly commented," It's hard to believe a workaholic like yourself wouldn't let people pamper him back to perfect health so he could get back to his company sooner."

Kaiba looked away and shrugged, pursing his lips as he kept himself from opening up. He let his gaze drift back to Bakura who looked worried. Squeezing his hands reassuringly, he said," It's okay. I'm just tired from being sick."

That was a lie, but Bakura wasn't going to call the bluff. It was enough to assure Bakura he wasn't the source of his discomposure. Pulling them to lying down beside each other, Bakura reassured Kaiba," You don't have to say anything."

"But you're here if I want to, I know," Kaiba finished. Sometimes how much Bakura reminded him that got annoying, but he knew he could stand to be told every day.

"Mmhmm… I think…" Bakura yawned, it hurting his ears. "... I think I'm going to get some rest."

Kaiba closed his eyes, feeling the pull of sleep that he'd tried to fight off the better part of the past few days. "Good idea."

Together they drifted into feverish sleep, too warm and too cold, but comfortably in each other's arms.


	12. Carving the Future

"You really don't have to do anything," Kaiba dismissed, still staring at the board as he decided where to move his next piece. Bakura was fairly decent at Go, but he still fell trap to the many classic mistakes of beginners. Setting down his white stone, he looked up to Bakura, waiting for his move and his response.

"Nothing for your birthday? But you're turning eighteen," Bakura protested. It was a big birthday for most people. First able to drive and all the other things that came with nearing adulthood… Though he supposed Kaiba had been able to do those things for years with all of his travels and whatever legal means he jumped around to get his piloting license when he was only a sophmore in highschool.

Bakura finally found the perfect place to play, but heard the thief's chuckle in the back of his head as he set his stone on the intersecting lines. Sure enough he'd set up right into Kaiba scoring an atari. He couldn't hide his glare at the board, not so much about the play but because he couldn't direct it at the thief.

"I haven't celebrated my birthday for a long time," Kaiba dully stated as he took Bakura's pieces prisoner. "Try to remember to keep an eye out for nearly connected territory. Disruption can be just as good securing points."

Bakura scratched his head as he stared at the board with dismay. How could he have so little territory this far into the game? He'd need to read more of those strategy books he'd picked up- if he had time around studying for the Center Test. None of his friends seemed particularly worried about it yet; it wasn't for another three and a half months. Kaiba wasn't even planning on taking it. 

It was an important examination, though, and Bakura found himself looking forward to it with trepidation. That test was typically the biggest factor for University acceptance, and a big indicator of his academic achievement that he'd put so much work into thus far.

They exchanged a few moves in silence.

"If you really wanted to do something, we could take a vacation, I suppose. Spend the weekend in Italy or the like," Kaiba decided aloud like he was compromising on a very unappetizing premise.

"We'd be doing that for me. I want it to be about you." They'd discussed travel here and there, mostly from Bakura's wonder that Kaiba could do it on a whim and think nothing of it. Italy was among one of the places he wanted to visit, specifically for Palermo, Italy and its famous catacomb.

Kaiba placed the final stone, sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms to signal the finality of his turn. Bakura had lost by a much smaller margin than the beginning of the week when he first said he wanted to learn the game. "All I want is life to continue as normal and do nothing out of the ordinary."

"Okay," Bakura said, trying to hold the defeated tone back. He was sure glad he decided to just talk to Kaiba about it and not string together a bunch of birthday plans without his knowledge. Mokuba had loved his surprise party they threw for him, but that was his nature. Bakura loved the quiet but full day of doing things he liked they did on his birthday. Seto apparently preferred no special attention brought to him.

Scrutinizing the board, Bakura took an educated guess," I don't have any moves left do I?"

Kaiba shook his head, no, and added," Let's count our territory." He already knew the score, but it was good practice for learners to count their own points. He'd taught Japanese scoring to Bakura, liking the focus of simplifying the math. Filling in the board with the prisoners made short work of finding the winner.

Bakura took the small handful of white captured stones and began to place them. "I can still get you something, though, right? For your birthday."

"Sure. And we can have dinner together." Kaiba gave in a little, just like he did for Mokuba every year.

"Cake?"

"No."

Bakura chuckled at the serious weight of the decision being applied to nothing but simple dessert. Kaiba didn't seem to find it as funny, pursing his lips and raising an eyebrow, but that only made the situation more hilarious, and Bakura really had to reign himself in to keep from bursting out in full laughter.

~~  
~~

The thief sat across from Bakura, watching as his host added delicate details to the model he was working on. " _What would you have done if he said no presents?_ " Bakura had been working on the piece for almost a week, and it would have been a shame to throw out such beautiful progress.

"I guess I wouldn't have gave it to him. Just keep for if we ever played?" Bakura shrugged, turning the figurine in his hand a little to reach the back of the wings. This was a bigger mini than he was used to working on, but he really loved the reprieve from humanoid characters.

That reply interested the thief. Did Bakura intend to play anytime soon? It was good to see him working on a model again, even if it was just a one off project for a special occasion. Crossing his arms, the thief tentatively asked," _How much do you remember of the diorama?_ "

"Huh?" Bakura looked up quizzically, though realization broke out only moments later. "Oh, you mean the museum?"

" _Right._ "

He paused carving for a bit, uncomfortably shrugging. He looked away as he said," Quite a bit now. A lot of my memories have filled in." It was weird. He could remember being there as the diorama was built, remember seeing his hands doing the work, but he couldn't remember actually doing it. He didn't have any memory of actually being aware in any capacity more than deciding what would be more stylistically accurate to the time period he was emulating and what the building proportions should be.

" _Oh._ " The thief uncomfortably checked out his nails, as if they could need buffing as a spirit.

Bakura tilted his head as he observed the thief. Dropping his gaze and returning to his model, he asked," Why do you ask?"

" _Sometimes I feel bad watching you work_ ," the thief answered.

"Then why bother?"

" _I like watching you carve. It's amazi… You're pretty good at it._ "

Looking up incredulously, Bakura tried to scan for deception. That was rather sappy, coming from the thief. All he found was embarrassment though, so he grinned and thanked the thief for the compliment. Hesitating, he looked down at his mostly carved wood block and back up to the thief. "Do you want to try?"

" _Me?_ " He pointed at himself as if he expected the other to inform he was mistaken and meant someone else. " _But that's too important. I'd mess it up._ "

"No you won't. I'll let you work on the base. You could make a pattern on it." That meant he didn't have to follow any design or worry about getting the proportions right.

" _I'll pass. Just watching is interesting._ "

"You sure?" He held out the dragon between them though he knew the thief couldn't actually take it from him.

The thief held up his hands up and said," _Yeah, I'm sure._ "

Bakura let it be and continued to work silently. He was nearly done, just having to clean up the rough shape of the tail and add a few small details here and there, and then he could seal and begin painting soon after. It should be done in time for Kaiba's birthday.

" _I'm… I'm sorry for all the times I forced you to do things…_ "

Bakura looked up in surprise. The thief was hiding his eyes with his scruffy hair, a small frown pulling at his lips.

"If this is about the museum, hey, that was one of my greatest works of art ever. I would have never been motivated to finish that on my own." His laughter sounded fake, even to himself.

The thief amended," _For everything._ "

"It's fine. I mean, it's not, but it's in the past. There's nothing that can be done to change it." He offered a warm smile, inviting a better future between them. 

" _Yeah..._ " Sitting up straight and squaring his jaw, he sighed and pushed his nagging thoughts out of his mind. At least, out of immediate consideration. " _Why don't you show me the ropes of that carving after all?_ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll try not to, but I might be a little late on next week's update (12/7) because of finals and it also happens to be my birthday that day.


	13. Sit in Silence

After Kaiba's birthday, a simple evening spent at home with just Mokuba, Bakura, and the thief, the months raced by too quickly. Between studying even harder than the last few years combined and making sure to keep up how much he hung out with his friends, Bakura felt exhausted constantly.

His Center Test was in three days, and he wasn't ready. 

He knew all of the content.

He wasn't ready to take such a critical test.

This could literally change the course of his life. 

All he had to do was get one set of circles off on the answer sheet and fail half the test, and he would be stuck in limbo for a year. Assuming he decided to try again so he could get into university. He could be late and have to wait a year. He could get sick and have to wait a year. Even if he just did the best he could with no complications, he might not do as well as he thought he would. He'd spent so much of his life studying to keep up his grades despite all the transfers he underwent, he would be so disappointed with himself to fail now. He only had one trimester of school left. How could he ruin his perfect grades now?

"I'm getting ahead of myself," he whispered, placing a heart over his chest. The hammering beneath his fingers couldn't be good for his health. Had he drank enough water recently?

"Something wrong?"

Oh, yeah, he'd forgotten he was reading with Kaiba, and that he could be heard as he talked to himself- actually himself and not just the thief.

Bakura shook his head, setting down his book to the side and playing his his hair to keep his hands busy. "No, I just am thinking about my Center Test. No one else seems stressed about it."

"I don't think anyone else in our immediate friend group is planning on going to a Japanese college."

Bakura almost asked why he included the qualifier of domestic, but then it dawned on him that Anzu probably wouldn't need Japanese standardized testing to get into an American school. Sighing, he said," I just can't get my mind off it. And I'm afraid that I won't do well, or that I'll be tardy and not allowed to take it, or maybe I'll-"

Kaiba rose from his desk and came over, effectively quieting Bakura as he put a hand reassuringly on his shoulder and squeezed gently. "You'll be fine. No matter what happens or the outcome thereof."

"How can you be so sure?" Bakura wanted to know that and more. He often envied the confidence Kaiba radiated, the constant air of knowing he may lose a battle, but that he would win the war of life.

"I guess it's a matter of faith." Kaiba wrinkled his nose at the word choice, never truly content to rely on something out of this realm, something that couldn't be measured. "You don't need faith in yourself, but those who believe in you. Even when things were bad, when I was hurtful and tired of every passing day, Mokuba believed in me, and I couldn't let him down." He had let him down, but the focus in his mind that he was only making sacrifices for Mokuba's greater good was what had spurred to keep going, to continuously try and find something better.

Bakura stopped twirling his hair to cross his arms self-consciously. He couldn't look Kaiba in the eyes with the sudden build of anxiety pressing on his chest, and turned away from him. The pressure of Kaiba's words were only helpful if one had the confidence in themself that they were competent enough to pull through. "I don't want to let you down."

"You can't." Kaiba took Bakura's hair and began to braid it, trying to pull off the plait he'd seen in Mokuba's hair last week. While he loved to see his brother learning and excelling at just about anything, he was still the competitive man that refused to fall behind.

"What do you mean?" He stiffened his back trying to stay as still as possible, smirking as he could feel the beginnings of a waterfall braid by his right temple. He'd taught Mokuba how to do it himself, and he could just imagine Kaiba scouring the internet to try and figure out how to emulate it.

"I can't be disappointed in someone doing their best and not quitting when they experience a little defeat. You could be a rounin for a decade, and if you were still studying your hardest for next year, I would be proud."

Bakura laughed at the absurdity. What university would accept an almost thirty year old who took a third of their life just to pass one test?

"I mean it. My father first became a teacher at the age of twenty-seven."

"Your father?" Bakura turned back, then apologetically faced forwards again as he messed up Kaiba's braiding progress. He felt that Kaiba was able to salvage most of it.

Kaiba silently braided for a while before continuing," It took him four years to get a good enough score to be accepted into Sophia, but that was his dream. That's where my grandfather graduated." Speaking of it now, he regretted not registering for the Center Test. Perhaps he could get a degree in something at Sophia, just to carry on the tradition.

Bakura sighed, a little relief washing over him. He was still tense for the coming days, but the realization that the worst could happen was just having to take it again next year was a small comfort.

~~  
~~ 

The last few weeks of classes were hard to focus on when the real test had already been taken. Bakura had scored the third highest of Domino, falling behind in the English test. He shouldn't have taken it, he reflected in hindsight, and just studied extra for the others. English was a good score to show off on university applications though, and his was still more than decent.

Now were the final tests of his high school career, and Bakura was feeling light headed. These tests were only cumulative of one term, much simpler than the examinations he'd taken over a month ago. The stress of constantly studying and feeling like he never slept at all was getting to him though.

In a large room, spread out from his peers, Bakura stared down at his exam, frustrated that he couldn't get the words to come into focus. The room was completely silent, no one even penning in their names anymore. The first question was a short essay to be calculated about, and everyone was busy reading it aside from Bakura. He had a hand to his chest, pressing his fingers into his skin to feel his heart the best he could.

The silence was deafening, and the thief was quick to realize something was wrong.

" _Bakura, what is it?_ " He repeated his question when he got no answer, not even a subtle shake of the head.

With trembling hands, Bakura began to brush through his hair. He couldn't see the test before him anymore, and he couldn't trust the singular voice he could hear to be real. It was just in his head. He was alone, and it was quiet, and he was starting to panic.

His throat felt tight, and breathing got harder and harder, quickly ceasing to be a thing he could actually do. He remembered there were people around him, if only dreamily. He didn't know if they were really there, but he hoped someone was at the very least.

"Someone _say something_. Anything, anyone," he begged, pulling at his hair and pressing his forehead to his desk. He screamed out," It's so quiet. This silence is deafening!" Despite his pleas for someone to speak, he covered his ears as the silence pressed harder and harder on his mind.

"Bakura," more than one voice called out, and he looked up wearily.

"It's okay," a singular voice assured him, and he realized it was Jounouchi.

"We're here." Another voice, Kaiba.

Looking around as the world came back into focus, Bakura saw mostly confused and offput faces, but a few faces around him held friendship and steadfast encouragement. He still couldn't breathe well, but their presence made the sickening pressure on his heart ease. The teacher at the head of the room snapped something about interrupting again, but Bakura couldn't follow.

" _You're taking a mathematics exam_ ," the thief reminded him, and he lowered himself so that Bakura could easily look into his eyes. " _This is your last test. Then you can shout as much as you want, but passing this was really important to you._ "

Bakura shook his head dumbly, still too confused to make sense of the situation.

" _Come on, you know all the equations. Let's read this first question together alright?_ "

The thief looked over the first sentence. Blue, like the kanji in Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Light, like the attribute of Holy Elf. Some kind of theoretical about flashing lights. He recognized most of the kanji and began to read, subbing in curses for the words he didn't know. Bakura slowly began to nod along, and a look of understanding came to him about halfway through. He began to scrawl numbers and quickly come up with the answer.

The thief watched, frankly amazed by the nonsense that Bakura was writing out. Maybe someday he'd ask for few lessons in math. Obviously the kanji was going well. 

"Thank you," Bakura breathed, afraid to be loud enough to be heard by the teacher and get kicked out.

" _It's nothing_ ," the thief dismissed awkwardly. " _Just do well on this stupid test._ "

Bakura nodded with determination and began to write in his second answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, yeah, I was late. Hope it was worth the wait, though. Thank you for sticking through with this story so far! Last chapter will be next week, and then I'll probably have to take a short hiatus before starting the next story. Sorry for any grammar mistakes. I haven't had time to edit hard core because of finals x.x


	14. Moving Forward

Holding his diploma was surreal, and Bakura kept letting his gaze drop down to it as he stood with everyone else in their formal attire. "Yeah, I know, it's going to be so different," Anzu said in response to Jounouchi, a little apprehension slipping into her otherwise confident voice. She was talking about her plans to study in America. She was making her dream happen. Bakura smiled sadly, truly happy for his friend but already missing her.

These were the first friends that stayed. How could he say goodbye to them? Sure most of them planned to stay in the area. They'd all discussed what they planned to do after high school. Well, almost all of them. No one bothered asking Kaiba his plans, as they were obvious, and so far no one had pressed for Bakura's plans. He was a little relieved, though also a little disappointed.

"I think you'll like America. Stay clear of the sushi though if you're off the coast," Kaiba advised.

"Yeah, you should listen to Mister I've Been All Over the World," Jounouchi joked, patting Kaiba's shoulder and missing how Kaiba side stepped away as contact was made. "Boy, what I'd give to go to another country."

Anzu winked and said," Well, that just means you should come visit me, obviously."

"We'll have to," Bakura agreed. "Video messaging won't be enough for how much we'll all miss you."

"They're timezones are so far off ours," Yuugi commented, with wonder in his eyes. He stared up at the stars that were just starting to come out. "It's like, breakfast time over there."

Kaiba couldn't help but argue a little despite agreeing with his long time rival. "I suppose that would depend on when one eats breakfast, but yes, It's seven in the morning in New York." 

"They're thirteen hours different from us, huh? That's going to make calling you hard," Honda said, thinking how hard it might be to make their schedules line up for even short conversations.

"We'll worry about that some other time," Anzu insisted. "We're celebrating today!" She hugged an arm over Jounouchi and Honda's shoulders, continuing," With burgers! C'mon, everybody. Let's go!" She knew they were willing to drop the conversation with the temptation of food brought up, and Yuugi was quick to follow, pumping the air with his fist and calling out the restaurant's name with fervor.

She was beyond excited to go to New York. She'd gotten accepted at a big dancing academy, just like she'd always dreamed. It was nerve-wracking though as they brought up just how separated from her life here she would be. Now wasn't the time to think of homesickness, she didn't have a left behind home to be sick over yet.

Falling behind as the four of them raced forwards, Kaiba looked to Bakura with a contemplative pout. He wasn't quite frowning, but his lips were worried a little from his thoughts. They never asked Bakura what he was planning to do now, and he realized he'd never heard Bakura mention plans for his future. "Now that you've got your diploma, what do you plan to do?"

With some of the best grades of his entire class and his great capacity for logic and reasoning, there was little Bakura couldn't do if he set his mind to it, Kaiba thought. He was bright and a talented artist. He had a critical eye for design and the great patience to deal with people. He was a great writer, both in stories and in academic writing. Any college would take him, he was sure.

"I don't know," Bakura awkwardly laughed. Tentatively, he admitted," I never thought I'd make it this far." Face screwed up, he quickened his pace to catch up with the others, leaving Kaiba to trail behind momentarily.

As they all walked together, Bakura easily fit back into the conversation with a bright smile. Kaiba couldn't concentrate on the meaningless blather everyone was filling space with, only the strained and tired effort Bakura put into his smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for a very short chapter and such a downer ending. The next volume is on its way though, so fear not! I should be ready to start updating "Yan Er Dao Ling" January 18th, so keep an eye out (*´∀`*)
> 
> I love all of my readers so much, and appreciate the feedback and kudos more than I can properly put into words. You guys really keep me going in updating what is easily the largest work I've ever composed at this point. I can't thank you all enough ♡(*´ω`人)


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